


Blood Lines

by Maggiemay (Maggiemaynot)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Complete, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2013-06-12
Packaged: 2017-12-14 17:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 63,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/839705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maggiemaynot/pseuds/Maggiemay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jounouchi learns that supernatural creatures exist and are very close to home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Lines

Title: Blood Lines

 

Author: Maggiemay

 

Muses and Betas:  Jazzy, mofaf1, Barbara, Chibi, Serena

 

Disclaimer: Don't own YGO or any of it's Characters. Do own my OC's and the work contained within this work.

 

Summary:   Jou finds out that supernatural beings exist, and are a lot closer to home than he ever imagined.

 

Rating: M for Mature just to be safe.

 

Size:   114 pages and 63116 words.

 

A/N:  BLAME CHIBIRINNI and her drabbles chapter six.  I read it - this bunny spawned and after resisting for a week,  eight days later  I started writing, despite the very best efforts of everyone (Points to above list) trying to get me back to work on other stuff.  Yes I (with the aid of above listed) wrote this little ficcy in two weeks.  If it sucks - ah.. uhm... it's all on CHIBI.

A/N:  Skim the glossary at the bottom - will help a bit.

***

 

Jounouchi Katsuya sat back in his desk and glared at the teacher for a moment before turning to glare at the guy sitting a few desks away from him.  "Well shit.  Figures I'd get stuck with Moneybags for a partner.  The teacher's had it out for me all year."  He grumbled, not bothering to lower his voice.  He honestly didn't care if the teacher or the Moneybags Jerk, aka Kaiba Seto heard him.

 

Jou honestly believed the teacher had it out for him, just because on the first test, he'd discovered an error that had made the entire test moot as it springboarded from that one part.  And Kaiba was just too stuck up and cold for his own good.  Everything was so serious and dramatic.  Why the guy couldn't laugh or even just have a normal conversation was a complete mystery, one Jou didn't care to try to unravel.

 

The teacher glared murder at the jovial blond and rapped out, "Move to the desk beside Kaiba.  The rest of you do the same, move to the desks nearest your randomly assigned partners."  He hesitated, his head tilting slightly as if listening to someone speak, then nodded.  "Jounouchi, see me after class."

 

"Randomly! Yeah and if I believe that then I expect to see a flock of flying pigs."  Jou grumbled, this time lowering his voice.  Obviously not low enough though.  He threw himself into the desk nearest the window, squinting his eyes at the sudden sunlight.

 

Kaiba's blue eyes flicked to him, glacial disdain in his expression.  "I'm looking at a pig now, and your hair is so uncombed it could be mistaken for wings sticking out from your head."

 

"Dickwad, watch yourself, your prissy ass is asking to get kicked."  Jou growled, but he knew that he wouldn't actually attack Kaiba.  The dude was mega-rich and had bodyguards everywhere, not to mention the one time he'd almost landed a blow on the brunet, the guy had caught his hand and crushed it. Jou had nursed his bruised and swollen hand for almost a month.  It had ruined his painting and left him with unsettling impressions.

 

"You wouldn't get close."  Seto sneered.  "Just shut up and read the notes.  If we hurry you can get back to your desk before your stink gets on my clothes."

 

"Heartless bastard."  Jou muttered but opened the assignment package.  They were partnered together to explore the origins of a modern mythical creature.  A quick scan revealed their 'randomly assigned' myth - The Vampire.  They were to work together as a team to find whatever information they could gather, then one will take the 'modern' and the other will take the 'traditional.'  They will work together for the first half of the class and separate for the second, every day for a week.  To Jounouchi it sounded like a week in hell, and he didn't' give a flying fuck what it sounded like to Kaiba.  "Goddamn, Vampire."

 

The brunet reading his email on his smartphone gasped and jerked, turning so fast that Jou barely had time to register the move before Kaiba hissed, "What did you say?  Repeat it."

 

Jou rolled his eyes and waved the paper sheaf.  "Goddamned Vampire.  It's our stupid assignment.  What, you think I'd insult make believe blood suckers by calling you one?  Damn, no way.  If they really existed one would hunt me down and kill me just for implying your cold, jerk-ass was one of them."

 

Seto barely heard the blond teen's response, instead he grabbed the assignment packet and skimmed over it rapidly.  His breath left in a whoosh and he lifted his eyes to the teacher at the front of the class.  The man's empty eyes met his steadily, and for a moment crimson blazed deep in their depths confirming a suspicion Seto had held all day - the teacher was a newly created thrall.  Not quite a zombie, but definitely under the control of another supernatural creature.  The smell of a tainted one had been prevalent in the school but it had become overpowering in the classroom.  He hadn't known for sure who or what it was, but now he was completely sure the teacher was the thrall.  Now that he recognized an influencing hand, Seto re-assessed the coincidence of the blond being assigned to him as a partner, and the specific assignment they had received.  

 

His blue eyes narrowed when the teacher smiled thinly.  "Kaiba, you can join Jounouchi after class. I don't like the disrespectful look on your face.  We'll discuss it then."

 

"Not happening."  Shot out of his mouth instantly.  No way was he going to be cornered by a thrall, especially with the blond nuisance around to witness the carnage.  He didn't even try to hide his complete rejection.  "I - and Jounouchi - have things to do and will not be joining you today - or any other day."

 

"Really Kaiba, who do you think you're talking to?  You will both be here or face expulsion."  The teacher's face twisted into a mask of cunning.  "Something you can't afford."  The gloating was common because a lot of grown men hated Seto for taking over a company when most could barely pass their classes.  Seto had learned to live with it.

 

"Yeah Kaiba, stop including me in your power trips.  I'll be here."  Jou assured the angry teacher.  "Kaiba can get bent."  Jou snatched at the paper.  "I'ma get to work."

 

"Fine."  Seto's pale pink lips compressed into a white line.  "I'll be here as well." With a soundless snarl, Seto plucked the crumpled papers from Jou's grip.  Jou didn't let go, and at the unexpected resistance, the papers sliced across the brunet's fingers, slicing one in a shallow papercut.

 

Seto watched the droplet of his blood well up with stunned horror.  He was bleeding - in the presence of a thrall - he was bleeding.  Thralls were controlled by the need for supernatural blood, their lust for it was insane.  They would kill anyone that stood between them and a source. If that wasn't bad enough, his blood was fully visible for everyone to see. At first glance it looked like normal red blood, but it wouldn't be long before someone noticed the shine, the gleam, of the power in it.  Seto knew he should move, knew he should get out of there, but even as he looked to the door, the teacher closed the door and began to stalk him.  Swallowing his pride, he sent out a mental shriek for help.  His family would come; he just hoped it would be in time to stop what Seto knew would be a very bad scene.

 

Jou frowned and turned to glare at the asshole who had grabbed the papers, only to falter slightly and glance down where the other teen's blue eyes were fixed in horror.  "Ah geez, Kaiba lighten up, it's just a paper cut.  It's not the end of the world.  Just suck the blood out of it, if seeing the blood makes you queasy."  When the blue eyes flickered but the look of horror didn't decrease Jou sighed and took matters into his own hands.  He brought Kaiba's injured finger up to his lips and sucked up the crimson beads that were welling up.  Jou's eyes widened slightly at the strange taste and unexpected almost scalding of his tongue, and he had absolutely no control when his lips clamped around the digit and pulled deeply.  Heat and pleasure exploded through him.  He barely noticed when Kaiba yanked his finger away violently and shoved Jou to the floor.  His grasp on consciousness left him as the world lit with fireworks that faded to blackness despite the bright sun pouring in from the window.

 

The teacher had reached their desks, staring vacantly from one to the other.  Seto didn't waste time waiting for the creature to attack; outside the window he saw a large car pull up and several of his family exit.  With a disgusted look at the blond who had just caused the collision between their two very different worlds, Kaiba scooped the teen up and tossed him over his shoulder, using his other hand to shove the thrall across the room and into a wall.  Ignoring everything and everyone else, he strode from the building, and was instantly enveloped in the protective cloak of his family.

 

Jou surfaced back to awareness slowly.  He was lying down on a comfy bed that felt like he was lying on a cloud, so where ever he was, it wasn't the school infirmary.  His last memory was being at school and Kaiba getting a papercut.  Jou didn't know what made the rich prick's blood so different, but he figured it had to be some kind of rich-dick genetic thing and thought vaguely that whatever it was, it was the cause of Kaiba's asshole-ness.  That made sense, Jou supposed.  Jou knew he'd be an asshole too if the blood in his veins was so damn toxic that it knocked normal people out.

 

Satisfied with his conclusions, he paid attention to the sounds around him.  Voices, arguing it seemed.  One of them all too familiar.  "Father Gozaburo, I've told you. He did it, not me.  He grabbed my hand and stuck my finger in his mouth.  This is not my responsibility."

 

"Seto, you have been raised since you were born to be aware, always, of who you are and of the possible consequences of exposure.  More, you were in proximity to him knowing what he is.  You cannot mistake that scent, and his fragrance is particularly strong."  A deep voice stated calmly.  "You were careless and now you must bear the cost of that.  You will have to make a choice.  Thrall him, kill him, or transform him, but it will be your choice and the consequences your burden."  There was the quiet sound of retreating footsteps and a door closing.

 

Jou was acutely aware of the silence, then the weight of a pillow on his face.  He was absolutely stunned; Kaiba was trying to smother him?  Fucking asshole.  Snarling, Jou came up swinging, knocking the other teen off him and on his ass on the floor.  "Ya fucking jerk! What the hell you think you're doing?"

 

Seto stared up at him from the floor wide-eyed.  "You're awake?"

 

"Good thing you murderous bastard."  Jou jumped off the bed and dashed to the door.  He must have misjudged the distance because he was there in a heartbeat.  "Fucking prick, I'm outta here and if you follow me I swear I'll beat the living shit out of you.  You tried to kill me you bastard."

 

"You... You're awake?"  The wide-eyes continued to stare as the brunet slowly rose to his feet.

 

"Yeah well, your father said to kill me so you must be a family of murderers.  Right, I'm checking out of Horror Hilton."  Jou wrenched the door open and darted through the empty hall and down the stairs.  He was reaching for the doorknob on the front door when a pale, elegant hand grabbed his arm.  Jou spun to stare at brunet murderer.  "Let me the fuck go."  He bunched his fits, ready to fight if need be.

 

"Jounouchi wait!  Please I... I have to talk to you."  Blue eyes were wide with shock, but it was rapidly fading and a sharp urgency was filling their depths.

 

"Try to kill me don't you mean?  Fucking bastard."  Jou snarled back, swinging out with a punishing fist.

 

His fist was caught in a huge, meaty fist.  "Enough.  You are Jounouchi Katsuya, I am Kaiba Gozaburo, head of this family.  You will refrain from attacking my son."  

 

"Fuck that.  You're the guy who told him to kill me.  Screw you buddy."  Jou didn't care who he was.   He was just as murderous as the younger Kaiba.  He wrenched desperately at the hand holding him.

 

"That is true, but that was before... You heard what I said?  You woke even earlier than I thought.  That is unheard of.  It is amazing and changes things."  Without releasing Jou's hand he turned and caught Seto with his other hand and dragged them both into a what had to be a study.

 

Jou was honestly surprised when Seto didn't struggle, but more surprised when his own struggles went completely unnoticed.  The guy was stronger than hell.  No wonder Kaiba had been able to stop the punch.  He got it from his dad.  No way did he want to get into it with both of them.  "Uh look Kaiba-san, no harm no foul.  I'll just go home and forget the whole thing."

 

"That's not possible."  The elder tossed them into the room and shut the door with a hard thud that echoed with finality.  "Seto, he is your responsibility.  I'm here to see that you fulfill your obligations, not fulfill them for you.  Explain."

 

"He's an idiot.  He'll never understand."  The brunet shook his head, studiously avoiding the blond.  "It would have been better if he hadn't woken.  I could have ended it without him knowing."

 

"That, too, carries a price.  It would normally please me that you have the ability to make the decision and carry it out.  However, his waking early clarifies what must be done.  His death is no longer an option.  He must become a thrall or a transformed.  As a thrall he can still be of use."  The man's dark eyes raked over Katsuya appraisingly.

 

Jou felt the brunet standing next to him shudder.  He so did not want to know what made the cold-as-ice brunet have a reaction like that.  If it made Kaiba shake, Katsuya knew it would probably melt his brain.  "Look, I don't get what you guys are talking about but can't we just forget whatever it is and go on our separate ways?  I promise, I won't say a word about you guys being freaks."

 

Gozaburo gasped and Seto rounded on him with angry eyes.  Before the younger Kaiba could unload, the older man stepped forward and caught the brunet by the shoulders, shaking hard.  "His death is not an option.  Deal with what your carelessness caused.  If you harm him you know the consequences."  Without another word the old Kaiba walked out, leaving a heavy silence in his wake.

 

Seto regarded the blond closely for a moment, then with a sigh of disgust, gestured to a chair.  "Sit."

 

"I don't think so.  Five minutes ago you tried to kill me."  Jou edged backwards, towards the door.

 

"Look, don't even try it."  Abruptly the other teen rubbed the bridge of his nose.  "Why the hell did you have to wake so early?  It would be all over now and you would be free.  Your soul would have been reborn and everything would have gone on the same."

 

"Whatever you tell yourself to sleep at night."  Jou quipped as he continued to edge towards the door.

 

"I said sit."  With a wave of his hand Jou found himself plunked unceremoniously in one of the rather uncomfortable old fashioned chairs.

 

"What the hell dude?  How the fuck did you do that?  What the hell is going on?"  Jou was freaked, no denying that.  It had felt like Kaiba had literally picked him up like a doll and dropped him in the chair.

 

"Damn it."  The blue-eyed teen sounded more resigned than angry, and of everything that happened, that resignation was the most frightening.  "I always get a headache when I have to use that much force.  Happy now?  You just caused me a bitch of a headache."

 

Headache?  The guy tries to kill him, just used some magic bullshit to force him into a chair and the killer brunet freak was bitching about a headache?  Jou could write him a book on the subject. "Look, you obviously have to tell me something, so spit it out."  Jou sat up straight and met the other gaze with unusually sober eyes.  "I promise not to make a joke or laugh.  Just tell me straight up.  I know you think I'm an idiot, but maybe I can help with whatever the hell is going on."

 

Seto drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Fine, I'm not human but a divergent evolutionary branch called Upyri."

 

"Upyri?  Not human?"  Jou gaped for a moment, then chuckles threatened, but never say Jounouchi Katsuya was not a man of his word.  Manfully, he fought the laughter.  Who the hell knew Kaiba Seto was a delusional nutball?  Murderous, freakishly magic or some shit, but still a nutball.  But it certainly explained a lot.  Insanity must be the norm in the Kaiba family - insanity and murder.  Poor guy, what a family legacy - and Jou thought he had it bad with his dad's drinking.

 

"I commend you, I expected you to laugh right away.  My species has cohabitated with yours since ancient times."  He slid into the chair behind the desk.  "It is true.  I know you noticed the difference in our blood when you saw it."

 

Now that he mentioned it, yeah, Jou remembered that Seto’s blood had looked weird, like it had flecks of silver and gold in it.  And the taste hadn't been salty-metallic like his own blood at all.  "It was like glittery and tasted..."  Dark red covered Jou's cheeks as he bit back the observation that it tasted better than anything.  He was still dealing with the physical response to that taste.  "Weird."  He hastily inserted.  There was no other word that fit.

 

"That's a new way to describe it.  Inadequate but new."  A small, knowing smile crossed Kaiba's face, making Jou flush even darker.  It was like the bastard knew what Jou had experienced from those small drops of blood.  

 

"Look jerk I..."  Jou sighed and shook back his hair.  "Fine, you're Upyri.  What the hell does that mean exactly?  What does that have to do with me?"  He didn't want to set off the magic shit or give the killer reason to go off and slit his throat for causing another headache.  Not that he had done anything to make Kaiba murder him before, but why bait a lion?

 

"Upyri evolved through exposure to an element most humans do not encounter.  In the case of Upyri, it happened over several years to a specific tribe in what is now Iraq, but then was known as Sumer.  I could explain about Enkidu and Gilgamesh, my ancestors, but it would bore you.  I've seen your eyes glaze over in class.  What you need to know is that Gilgamesh and his revived lover Enkidu were my ancestors.  I was specific about the 'revived' part of that.  You see, Gilgamesh discovered a way to bring Enkidu back from the dead - or so it's told - was he really dead or just comatose is up for debate.  However, his quest brought the element that caused our evolution to diverge from other homo sapiens into their native village."

 

"Ah okay."  Jou nodded his brain filled with images he half understood.  "So like when on the news they say something causes cancer. Except it didn't cause cancer, it made your people Upyri.  So what does that got to do with me?"  Katsuya bit back the word mutant.  Kaiba was a freaky, insane, killer, magical mutant.  Fucking wonderful.

 

"Procreation is not the same for us as it is for you.  There are no born female Upyri."  The conversation just kept getting weirder and weirder.  Katsuya felt like he was trying to hold a conversation in a different language without knowing the words.  They sounded familiar but what the hell did they mean?

 

"Uh no chicks?  You... uhm... you're a fag?"  Okay that fit too.  Damned pervy jerk.  There were a lot of guys that came down to the neighborhood that tried to do perverted stuff to the kids who lived there.  Jou had never gotten caught but he'd seen some other kids who had.  There was always talk afterwards about pervy fags.  The list, - freaky, insane, killer, magical, mutant - had just gotten longer with the addition of ‘perverted fag’.

 

"That term is offensive as it is incorrect.  Upyri are not limited to male and female genders.  Most of us can take the appearance of any form, any gender, we choose and can be anything our partners desire.  I said procreate, not have sex.  The ability of Upyri to procreate is rare.  Few Upyri have it, and even fewer humans."

 

"Wait, hold up.  Humans can 'procreate' with you guys?"  Okay that just took a sharp left into uncharted territory.  Another sharp left off the already weird ass path the conversation had taken.

 

"A few, and what we have discovered is that the ones who can are related to one of Gilgamesh's wives, they are called Malka.  You see Gilgamesh was a king and had several wives but only one male lover - Enkidu.  It is surmised that these wives were sent away when Enkidu returned to Gilgamesh.  However, they were already exposed either through the environment or through relations with Gilgamesh and have passed that on to their descendents."  Seto sighed and lowered his head slightly.  "It has been written, of the few found, that they always have a distinctive scent, difficult to explain in words, but instantly recognizable to Upyri, it is like the smell of a garden after a spring rain.  Full of hope, promise, and fertility.  That is the line that comes to mind.  The problem is, the ones who... Malka are not always strong of mind or body.  Where my ancestors had years to absorb and adjust, there is no time for the Malka.  A rapid conversion usually has one of two results - madness or death."

 

"Shit, you're telling me this because I have that smell, don't I?"  Jou glared at him.

 

"Yes, you do.  As my stepfather pointed out, it is extremely strong.  The fact that you woke up after your initial exposure to my blood also points to you being probably the best candidate for conversion ever."  A frown painted his brow again.  "Malka are documented as falling into the unconscious state for hours and days after the initial contact.  The ones to make it through to full transformation are noted as being in the unconscious state shortest.  You were out less than an hour.  It is an unheard of amount of time."

 

The light bulb went on.  Kaiba was saying that he wanted Jou to become like him.  Freak mutant fag, Jounouchi Katsuya.  "Yeah, well no thanks.  Not happening, but yeah, thanks for the offer.  See ya around Kaiba."  Jou nodded and stood.  "I'll pass on the whole evolutionary thing.  I like me as I am."  He started to turn only to find himself back in the chair, this time unable to move.  "Man, what the fuck?"

 

The brunet was rubbing his temples and glaring.  "Sit and stay!  I have more I must tell you.  There is much more you have to know.  Now that you have had contact with the element in my blood, it has kick started the recessive changes in your body.  You will change and it will not be pleasant for you.  If you do not let me help you, you will definitely become something less than human.  You have not had enough exposure to fully complete the transformation, but enough to mutate your genetic makeup.  If you don't believe me, remove your shirt and look at your chest."

 

Jou didn't remove it, but he pulled the neck up over his head and looked down.  "Oh fuck, what the hell didja do to me?"  He rasped, genuine terror stealing the scream from his throat.

 

"A single line, blue-green or maybe khaki-green  radiating from your heart around your chest, glowing through your skin right?"  Kaiba sounded terrifyingly calm.

 

"You're not lying or crazy."  Jou pulled his head out of his shirt and stared at the blue-eyed teen in horror.  "What did you do?  Whatever it is, stop it and take it back."

 

"No, I'm not.  I can't.  The line will increase, spreading across your entire body until you are either converted, thralled, or dead."  Seto shrugged and spread his hands.  "You see why I wanted to spare you this?  If you hadn't woken..."

 

"Shit."  Jou sat there for several minutes, trying to bring order to the chaos in his brain.  When he was sure he could talk rationally, without screaming, he croaked.  "What are my options again?  Explain exactly what you mean."

 

"I will remind you that you brought this on yourself by taking my blood without permission.  Death is pretty self-explanatory, however I will enlighten you, we have found that most souls are reborn, so this would not have been your only life.  Who knows, we might have met again when you were reborn."

 

"Shut up, just shut up about death.  Okay, next option.  Uh, thrall?"

 

"Yes well, death isn't really an option at this point anyway, unless you manage to escape and fall to inhuman state or fail the transformation."  Kaiba actually looked disappointed by that.

 

"Why mention it?"  Not like he wasn't already terrified enough.

 

"I have to get my fun somehow."  The brunet deadpanned.  "It isn't an option, but I'm positive you will not like the remaining choices any better.  Thrall, it is to basically give you enough blood to keep you from dying, but spaced in such a way that you will not transform.  Instead you become a mindless creature, fit only for my bidding.  If it goes on long enough the damage is too great to ever transform you, but by that time not enough of your mind is left that you would care.  You would become a slave, a puppet.  In your case, because you are Malka and thralled, you would be a breeder and most likely die with the first emergence."

 

"Breeder?  I'm a guy, that can't happen."  Jou rejected automatically.  "What the hell is Malka again?  Humans that can have your kids?"

 

"I am from a race founded by men with only males, it is possible as we can take any form or gender we choose."  Seto corrected calmly.  "Malka are the ones who smell of spring I mentioned, the ones who can procreate with Upyri and they can be transformed to Upyri.."

 

"Damn, so I become a mindless baby machine for you?"  Jou was freaking out again.

 

"Not for me."  The Upyri corrected.  "As a thrall you would become the property of my family father, the head of our family.  He would likely breed with you right away.  He is dissatisfied with his true son and is frightened of me."  A cruel smile edged his lips.  "With reason.  I've already killed him once."

 

"You killed..."  Jou shook his head.  "Nah wait I don't want to know.  Okay, so being a mindless drooling zombie who gets fucked by your stepfather until I magically get pregnant and die.  Uh, yeah not really good for me.  What is the last option - wait transform.  Where I become like you?"

 

"Yes.  I will give you enough blood to complete your evolution in one leap.  It could easily kill you or drive you mad.  I would put you out of your misery if you descend to madness.  If it succeeded you would have to give up your family and live here with my family.  There are upsides, you don't get sick, you age slowly and when you reach about thirty you will stop aging physically, your lifespan is lengthened.  You will have increased intellect, powers such as the telekinesis I've shown you, and your senses will rival that of the keenest animal senses."  The brunet hesitated then shrugged and spread his hands again.  "There are also downsides.  Your diet will be very limited to a very select cuisine, anything vegetable based will give intense pain.  You will maintain your skin tone, but your eyes will be sensitive to light.  There are other creatures who have evolved similarly, that will hunt you because your blood will increase their adaptation."

 

"Man, no wonder you have body guards."  Jou mumbled.  "I thought it was 'cause you were mega rich and owned that compan.... Oh fuck, your family father, is he the same guy who took the header off the top of your building a few years back?"

 

"Yes.  He had to leave public life because, of course, he was pronounced dead on the scene.  He is still head of the family only because I did not demand he step down.  It was more problematic for me to run the family.  A pair is needed to run the family and I had no desire to take a life partner at my age."

 

"Wait, you need a partner... eh... wife?  Husband?  To run the family?  Ever heard of single parent homes?"  Jou was from one himself, he knew they existed.

 

"Our race was based on the partnership - the best friend closeness - of two men.  It has evolved to reflect that.  Partners are closely bonded and usually complementary in their strengths and weaknesses.  When one dies the other usually chooses to go with them.  Partners, true partners, are exponentially more powerful together.  That strength is needed in our family."  For the first time discomfort showed on Kaiba's features.  "It is more problematic for me because I..."  He hesitated then shrugged.  "I am one of two remaining of the original Upyri line, directly descended from Gilgamesh and Enkidu.  The rest of our people are descended from the villagers.  My partner will have to assume royal duties and act as my second in command."

 

Jou was connecting the dots rapidly.  "Shit that makes you like the crown prince or something doesn't it?"

 

"My brother is the crown prince."  Seto corrected.

 

"That means... Holy fuck you're a king?"

 

"Some would call me Sire.  It's not a title I care for.  My cousin Atemu was the king and when he died, my father.   Father entrusted us to Kaiba Gozaburo while he sought solitude after the loss of Mokuba's breeder.  His car plunged from a bridge and he drowned."  A frown pulled the fine brows together over blue eyes.  "If you accept transformation you will become..."  The brunet frowned slightly.  "Of my family, subject to me, but not my puppet.  Father Gozaburo is the family head, but you would have rights that you would not as a thrall, he could not compel you - he wouldn't own you.   You would owe me your unconditional loyalty, although I don't expect you to agree with me on all things.  Nobody else could say anything to you."

 

"What about this whole 'breeder' 'Malka' thing?  Am I gonna have ta breed with your father?"  That thought was almost as terrifying as anything else.  The guy wasn't ugly, but Jou wasn't into sex at all outside of a few stray fantasies.  He just wasn't interested, guy or girl.

 

"No, you will be off limits to everyone, protected as I am."  Seto replied evenly.

 

"How long do I have to decide."  Jou stalled for time trying to think of someway out, some other option.

 

"That would depend on how long it takes for the element to reach most of your body.  If you would take off your shirt I will be able to tell based on the advancement of the line.  One or two percent means you might have a day.  Any more than that and you are talking about hours."

 

Jou swallowed hard.  "Uh, yeah, I only got one.  So I got a day right?  I'll uhm... Can I go home and think about it?"  If he could get home he could go to his safe place and hide out until this shit blew over.

 

"I can't risk that Jounouchi.  It isn't safe for you.  Not only is it possible for the change to speed up and cause problems but the others who would hunt you will smell your new state."  The brunet head dipped.  "Your scent changed, you lied to me.  What about?  The only thing I... The line?  Let me see your chest.  If it's too far spread we will have to act immediately."

 

Jou clutched his shirt to his chest protectively.  "I... "  Without warning he wrenched out of the chair, breaking Seto's mental hold on him and tried to dash from the room.  He must have surprised the Upyri king because he actually made it to the front door again, only to be stopped by a blur of black and blue that resolved itself into a younger teen boy gripping Jou around his waist tightly.  "Let go!"  He tried to shove the boy off only to yelp when the boy sank sharp teeth into his arm.  "Ow, ya little shit."  Not caring about hurting the brat, Jou flung the kid with enough force that he hit the wall, breaking it and flying through to the next room.  "Huh?"  Jou knew he hadn't thrown the brat that hard.

 

Seto was on Jou like a dog on a bone, tearing the meager protection of his shirt from his body with ruthless hands.  As soon as his torso became visible there were audible gasps in the room, and Jou would swear to his dying day that Kaiba Seto looked astounded.  The blond looked down at the swirling mass of gold scrollwork lines circling around his chest, ribs and torso like a giant circular maze, spreading visibly down his arms like pouring syrup, disappearing down his trousers to travel down his pelvis and legs.  "Yeah, I think it's one line but I don't think it's got much further to go."

 

"Oh Inanna."  A young voice breathed.  Jou turned to see the black-haired youth he'd thrown through the wall staring at him through the shattered drywall.  "What is he doing walking around?  He's already over half-finished with the transformation."

 

"He's only had a few drops of my blood.  It's impossible, but I'm seeing..."  Seto shook his head, biting his cheek hard enough to make blood well up inside his mouth and seep from the corner of his lip.  "I don't understand.  What are you Jounouchi?"

 

"I'm just me.  Damn it I'm out of..."  Jou froze as he caught the sight of the shimmering droplets of gold, red and silver on Seto's mouth.  "here..."  The last word was a whisper as he stalked across the small hall and leaned up to lap at the tiny beads flowing from Seto’s mouth.  The incredible flavor, heat, and pleasure burst through him again as fireworks shot through his body.  Reflexively he jerked back, and panicked at the strange pain and burning.  Without conscious thought he bolted for the front door, literally tearing it from its hinges as he ran out into the late afternoon sun.  He made it five paces before he sprawled face up into a heap on the manicured lawn.

 

Kaiba Seto stared at the supine form of the blond for a moment, then strode out and scooped him up, carrying the blond effortlessly back upstairs to the bedroom, Mokuba trailing anxiously behind him.

 

Gozaburo and his partner  followed as well.  "You continued the transformation without taking proper precautions?  Without going to a prepared chamber?"  Gozaburo scolded harshly.

 

"I did not.  He's only had exposure to those few drops at school and now the few that he took from my lip.  It is not enough!"  Seto stepped away from the unconscious teen sprawled on his bed.  "The only way it could possibly be enough was if he had already been exposed.  He is not a thrall, but, there is no other explanation."

 

Gozaburo's partner, Rex Goodwin stepped close to the bed and examined Jounouchi.  "The line is not at all like any I've ever seen.  All of us have similar markings, except you and Mokuba.  These markings are not the same as any of ours.  Are you sure he was simply Malka?  Could he have been something else entirely?"

 

"His scent was Malka, strong but definitely as described.  His intelligence is lower than any Malka ever found but I attributed that to human breeding.  There is no sign of any other creature in him."  Seto frowned and traced his fingers across the scrolling golden line.  "I stayed away from him because I didn't want stupid children."

 

"Not because of the risk?"  Rex asked softly.

 

Seto knew that his 'fathers' were always looking for weakness in him and admitting to being concerned about whether Jounouchi lived or died could give them a weapon.  "What is his death to me?  I couldn't care less about him  If he had been even slightly more intelligent I would have thralled him and bred him until he died.  However his lack of intelligence stopped me.  I left him alone to live his mediocre, human life.  He's the one who brought this on himself."

 

"He is past thralling, Seto."  Rex said, amusement and sly satisfaction in his tone.  "You won't have a choice.  Your children will be inferior despite your royal blood."

 

"I will..."

 

"Nothing."  Jou sat up, rage in every bristling inch of him.  "You will do nothing.  Hell will freeze over before you get the sweat off my ass much less a kid from me.  Ya fucking bastards.  I don't know what you did to me but it ends now."  With an inhuman leap past his stunned, gaping audience, he tore the curtains open and threw open the window.  Jou didn't hesitate to jump from the third story window.  He was gone like the wind before they could move to stop him.

 

Gozaburo gazed into the distance, not really seeing the disappearing blond, but his own ambitions growing on the horizon.  "It seems your new partner has almost fully transformed.  He needs the final elemental infusion.  Congratulations Sire,"  It was pure mockery when he said it and Seto barely controlled his flinch.  "I suggest you find him before something hungry finds him, or worse, he discovers he's hungry."

 

Mokuba stepped forward, "Seto I'll help you look.  His scent is distinctive and no matter how much energy he showed, he has to be weak, he's barely transformed."

 

"No Mokuba."  Seto's gaze was fixed on something only he could see out the window.  "You stay and help our step brother with his chores.  I'll see to my... I'll see to Jounouchi. I suppose he’ll need this."  Seto pulled one of his own school uniform shirts from his closet. He didn't leave through the broken window frame, instead he calmly walked out the front door and slid into the car he'd called around for his use.  He wasn't going to waste energy running around after an idiot when he knew that he would need it later for dealing with said idiot.  He really didn't want unintelligent children if this was the way they would behave. Completely irrational.  Of course if they were as pretty to look at as Katsuya then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.  Seto loved to look at Katsuya, so he would probably enjoy their children, even if they were idiots.  Besides one of them had to inherit brains from him didn't they?

 

He didn't notice, although his fathers did, that he left his sunglasses sitting on the side table.  Seto was going to be in pain for a few days but he was more focused on finding the 'idiot' than taking the most basic of their precautions.  The two men also made note of the fact that even though Seto didn't care for his own physical needs, he was concerned for the new Upyri needing a shirt.  His Majesty might say he didn't care for the blond Malka, but his actions shouted something exactly the opposite.

 

Using Jou's distinctive scent, Seto followed the blond to the track at school.  The blond was sprawled out in the grassy field staring up at the sun hanging low in the sky with a tortured expression.  Seto dropped down beside him and sighed.  "You are a pain in the ass."

 

Instead of anger, the blond flinched and curled into a ball.  "Oh bite me, just leave Kaiba."

 

"You know I can't.  I'm responsible for you now.  Besides you're not finished yet.  You need my help or you will lose your mind."  Resignation was the only note discernable in the smooth voice.

 

"Kaiba ya don't understand.  I'm hurting real bad.  It feels like some monster's trying to come out of my skin and this  line is a rope burning me away, trying to set the monster free.  I want to tear something apart, I want to... I want to..."  Jou broke off and huddled into himself.

 

"You want to drink my blood, taste my flesh.  Yes I know.  It is an instinctive impulse to find what you need to finish the conversion, like an obsessive craving.  If it's any consolation it will never be like this again for you.  This is the time when the madness manifests, when I would have to kill you if you couldn't maintain control."  An odd regret shaded the brunet's voice.

 

Jou flung himself up and out, laying spread eagle on the grass.  "Do it.  Kill me Kaiba.  I don't wanna be your slave and I don't wanna... wanna be your bitch.  Even if my kids were yours you'd hate them, wouldn't you?  'Cause they were stupid.  I won't have kids who are hated because they're not smart in the same way as other kids.  All kids deserve love Kaiba."  He dashed his hand across his eyes and pleaded "Kill me."

 

Seto lowered his head slightly and stared at the ground, his eyes darkened with shame.  He had said that, but only to hide a weakness for the blond, not because he'd truly hate any child.  He loved children, felt a deep kinship with them.  He would have to explain it to Jounouchi at some point, but right now there were other things to deal with.  He turned and straddled the sprawled blond, tracing the pulsing golden lines radiating from the other man's heart then smoothed his hands up to rest lightly on Jou's throat.  They were truly unique in form and color, like a giant scrolling vine in some ancient scroll.  Beautiful and somehow well suited to the blond.  "Look at me."  Seto whispered softly.  The normally bright golden eyes were wide and almost incandescent with pain and need.  Not a single sign of madness showed in that incredible gaze.  "My name is Seto - You are Katsuya, and you will never be my slave."  With infinite tenderness, he lowered his head and carefully pressed his lips to the pulse hammering at Jou's throat.  "I give you my word, you will never be my slave."  On an exhaled breath, his small, needle sharp fangs descended from behind his incisors and punctured the tender skin.

 

Katsuya went perfectly still, even his breathing halting in his chest.  The only sign he was alive was the thudding of his heart driving the blood over Seto's intruding fangs.  Seto read the amount of transformation based on the power in the blond's blood, amazed at how very close to completion the blond truly was. The records said transforming a Malka could drain a transforming Upyri almost to the point of death.  That wasn't the case with Jounouchi.  It only took a few small injections of blood, just a handful of drops to complete the process.  Nothing about that was normal, yet Jounouchi had been totally free of the power before, only his recessive Malka traits discernable.

 

Barely noticing the loss of his blood, Seto carefully removed his fangs and slipped off the other teen and knelt in the grass to wait for the transformation to complete.  Jou's eyes had fluttered closed at his bite, and they snapped open as soon as Seto moved off of him.  "Holy shit, tell me you didn't just bite me.  No wait, tell me you didn't suck my blood."

 

"I didn't suck your blood."  Seto's voice was tinged with subtle humor.  It was perfectly true.  He hadn't taken so much as a cell.

 

"Don't fucking lie to me, ya asshole.  You bit me - I felt it."  Jou was positive on that point.  "You're a goddamn vampire.  You even have fangs."

 

"I didn't say I didn't bite you.  I said I didn't suck your blood.  Yes I have fangs, of a sort, they are not fangs in the sense of canine incisors, but are more like small curved needles, specifically adapted to drawing in or injecting nutrients.  To be precise I injected you with a mix of my blood and a few other things my body makes just for this kind of transformation.  If there is ever a time when I take your blood, you will know about it." Seto sighed "And to be precise, I am an Upyri, not a vampire, although we have been called that before.  Vampires are not real, they are mythical demons created to scare children.  Upyri can and do drink blood, human and other mammal, but we also consume flesh as well.  It is as forbidden to us to consume human flesh as it is taboo for most other human species.  We can go out and about during the day, although we are light sensitive.  Everything I told you before is still the same, the only difference is that now you are the same as I am.  You nearly completed transformation before you jumped out the window, you just needed a few more things to sate the need in you."

 

"But you drink blood."  Jou was stuck on that point.

 

"As will you.  It is required to maintain health and sanity.  Do not worry you will not have to don a cape and go about at night to hunt human prey.  We sponsor many blood centers where blood is collected for payment.  Most donors believe it goes for medical needs or cosmetics, but a large portion is used for Upyri consumption."  Seto stood and dusted his hands down his trousers.  "Can you stand?  According to the records, you should not be conscious, much less able to move about, but you seem to be a unique Malka."

 

Jou stood and stretched, feeling his muscles flex and compress, filled with a surge of energy that he'd never felt before.  He didn't want to examine it too closely, so instead he looked for the freaky thing that had convinced him that this was all real.  He checked out his chest, frowning slightly.  "The line is gone."

 

"Not really.  It is resting.  When you use your power, or if you allow yourself to be depleted by not eating your line will show plainly.  There is a lot I have to teach you, but for now, let's go to your home and gather your belongings.  You will want to say goodbye to your sister."  Seto gestured him to the car he'd parked on the edge of the track.

 

"What do you know about my sister?"  Jou asked suspiciously, jerking to a stop.

 

"Only that you love her very much.  When your blood flowed over my teeth, I could see and hear what's in your heart.  I expected more than just the image of your sister, because you are always so bright and happy, but she was the only image I saw."  Seto saw no harm in explaining something so basic.

 

"Well damn! Shizuka is not the only person I love.  My mom and dad split up over seven years ago.  I haven't seen her since they split.  I live with my dad."  Jou paused and shrugged.  "But I do want my clothes.  I worked two jobs to buy decent stuff so I want to keep them."

 

Seto had seen what passed for decent clothes to the blond on a few school trips.  He didn't agree to the 'decent' description, but he wasn't going to argue either.  "Let's go then."

 

Still the blond hesitated.  His voice was tentative, all anger gone.  "Kaiba I... Do I really have to do this?  I mean, I ain't crazy and I have my own life.  You aren't the only one with responsibilities.  Can't I just go on like I was?  I'm happy with my life the way it is."

 

Sadness pierced Seto.  That is all he'd wanted for the blond.  That was the true reason he'd never considered taking the Malka.  Jounouchi Katsuya had been bright, sparkling, joyful.  Seto had wanted him to stay that way.  "I really wish you could, but you are completely different physiologically from what you used to be.  It wouldn't work.  Not just that, but you will attract other beings who will try to take you, hurt you or kill you.  I have to watch over you, you are my responsibility."

 

Jou sighed and dropped his head , the picture of dejection.  He actually knew that.  The images had been two-way. He knew a lot about the other teen that he hadn't known before, a lot more.  Things Kaiba Seto would not want him knowing.  "Ka... Seto, I... I'm going to fight you.  You know that I will.  Can't we work something else out?  Something besides me living with you?  You didn't mean for this to happen, and I sure as fuck didn't.  It can't be changed, I get that, but... but I can't just give up being me.  Can't your genius brain come up with  some other way?  I'm... I can't... I don't want to fight you over this because it's just fucked and I know you don't want it as much as I don't."

 

"I can't see any other way.  Katsuya if I could, I'd suggest it.  I do understand everything you're trying to say, I just don't see how I can keep you safe and fulfill my responsibilities any other way."  Seto admitted.  If Jou had been looking at the blue-eyed Upyri he would have seen sorrow and regret etched into the elegant features.

 

"You have to be responsible for me but, well, doesn't that mean my happiness too?  I won't be happy Seto, not like this.  Please let me go?  Nothing has happened so far and I'm... Look you said it, I'm stupid and worthless.  I know you say I'm your responsibility, but can't you let it ride or do something else?  Like, you have bodyguards right?  Can't you just assign a couple of them to me?  I... I don't want to be mean but your house, your family, your 'family father' and... The whole place is not good for me.  I don't think I can get past your dad being okay with killing me, and what the other guy said about my kids... I don't want to be there.  I get why you fit there but it’s not me.  I will be miserable and wish I was dead.  Can't you just let me be?  If something happens I'll do what you want and come home with you, but can't we just see what happens?  I'm not important or anything, nobody even wanted me before, I don't think it'll change now.  Please?  Seto, please, just let me be me until something happens - if it happens."  Jou drew a shuddering breath.  "I promise I won't fight you then, but can't we try it this way first?  Let me stay me?"  A small light of desperate hope lit depths of Jou's eyes.  It was a gamble, a bargain that he hoped Kaiba would take.  Jou knew that Seto didn't want him miserable, he knew it, so maybe this would help them both.

 

"You need to know so many things Katsuya.  You won't know how to feed yourself and your other physical needs are very different.  Also your gifts will be manifesting and uncontrolled.  It could be dangerous to everyone around you."  Seto protested logically but Katsuya could feel him wavering.

 

"So have your bodyguards talk to me, or give me a primer of some kind.  I just... Please?"  Jou hated to beg but he knew that fighting would be a losing battle.  One of the the things he'd also learned was he couldn't fight Seto and win.  The guy was about a thousand times stronger than he was.  The only chance he had was to get Seto to see reason, to play on that unexpected warmth he had sensed in the brunet.

 

"Katsuya, it's difficult to explain but..."  Seto sighed as he saw the small light of hope start to die in the other's golden eyes.  Somehow he felt that if he caused that light to die it would be worse than if he'd simply killed the other outright.  "All right, you may stay in your life until such a time as it becomes too dangerous.  You will have to be guarded and you cannot baulk at the guardians assigned."

 

"All right!  Thank you Seto.  I promise I will stay out of trouble.  You'll see, I'm going to be the easiest responsibility you have.  You won't even have to think of me."  Relief blazed in the golden eyes as he made his childish promises.  He was too relieved to see the rueful look that crossed the brunet's features.

 

"I somehow doubt that.  Let's go Katsuya."  Seto gave the blond an amused, disbelieving look and ushered him to the car.  "Put your address into the GPS. And here," He handed Jou the shirt from the back seat of the car. “Put this on.”

 

Jou knew most of the people in his area were ashamed of where they lived, but not him.  He loved his home.  It wasn't nice, it wasn't clean and perfect, but the people of his small apartment complex were as close to a family as he had.  His dad could be violent, especially when the drink was fading and his darkness was on him, but for the most part he was a cheerful drunk.  The people in the other apartments were an oddly matched group that made a patchwork family that somehow fit.  They were part of his life and he wouldn't be ashamed of who he was.  He didn't hesitate to type in the address of his home.

 

As Kaiba turned the car onto the main road, Jou settled back and closed his eyes.  "Can I ask some questions?"

 

"You can ask, but I may not tell you something if I feel you don't need to know."  Maybe that was a little too honest but Seto wasn't going to make false promises.

 

"Yeah, shouldn't overburden my stupid brain.  Got it."  Katsuya agreed smoothly.  "First question;  what the hell do you mean by evolutionary divergent?  'Cause all I come up with is 'mutant.'  You might have some super powers, but you are not an X-man."

 

That made Seto want to chuckle.  Comic books?  Was that a step up or step down from the vampire mythos? "At some point - we know when, as I've already explained - my ancestors came in contact with something that changed how we evolved.  Think of it like dogs.  Human, normal humans, are like domesticated dogs, part of the Canidae Canini tribe of dogs and related to wolves.  There is a second tribe of dogs, Canidae Vulpus, foxes.  Foxes and Dogs cannot interbreed.  Dogs and wolves can.  If normal dogs can breed with dogs, foxes can breed with foxes, and Malka can breed with both."

 

"Okay so, you're a fox.  But, what does that make me? I’m a pre-dog pure breed, right? Or I was. Wait. Well, what I was before.  I could interbreed with dogs or foxes."  The blond hesitated a moment.  "Right?"

 

"Right.  You were a... I believe Malka are basal species, the beginning, before the genetic changes were complete, the changes waiting for the jump start to kick them off, but no jump happened.  Nobody truly knows."

 

“Ok, so basal is like base - beginning.” Katsuya nodded, "Got it, I'm a purebreed and you're a mutt - or I was.  So what am I now?  Mutt... uhm...Upyri?"

 

That surprised a laugh out of the brunet and he nodded even as he chuckled.  Simply put, with clear childlike reasoning that was dead on.  "Yes, you are like most other Upyri, although your social status is different because you were Malka and because you are... my responsibility."  Seto frowned slightly.  "Being King has a few perks.  Being transformed Malka is not bad, Katsuya.  Malka transformed Upyri are highly prized because of their strength, fertility and talents as well as their extremely rare existence."

 

"How rare is rare?  How many are like me, how many Upyri are there, come to think of it?"  Jou asked.

 

"In Domino there are almost three thousand Upyri."  At his start of surprise Seto chuckled "I told you we have lived alongside normal humans for a very long time.  To be honest, this is the largest concentration of Upyri anywhere in the world.  About a tenth of the known Upyri live here.  The rest are scattered around the world."

 

"So you have like thirty thousand people total?  Man that isn't much.  Uhm, how many are Malka?"

 

"There are only a few recorded cases of successful Malka transformation.  Many failures, only a few successes.  Less than a hundred in the last six thousand years.  Of those, four are known to be alive today.  None are in Domino."  The Upyri king gave him a curious look.  "Shall I call them to you?  Will it help to speak to them?"

 

"Nah, not right now.  I... Maybe in the future.  Let's stick to this right now.  Are there things I'm gonna hafta do because you're taking care of me?  I mean like royal stuff?  Because I don't know if I can.  You've said it enough, I'm dumb, but I'm also common.  I don't have fancy manners."  He refused to apologize for that, too.  He couldn't help both so it was best to just accept things as they were.

 

"I'll do my best to keep you out of that mess but there may be a few instances when I can't.  I hate the wasted ceremony crap of that part of my life and I despise being called 'Sire' and 'Majesty.'  I should never have been king."  Seto admitted honestly.

 

"Okay, I'll do my best too if that happens."  Jou smiled.  "Park in front of the building.  I know there's a no parking sign but the cops never come down here.  You won't get a ticket."

 

Seto didn't bother to explain he never worried about tickets.  Katsuya would learn soon enough there were benefits to being under him - his aegis - he hastily corrected the thought before it could morph to something else.  He just grunted as  the car rolled to a smooth stop.  

 

Jou was out of the car and up the stairs in a flash.  Seto sighed and climbed out of the vehicle more slowly.  First lesson he was going to have to give Katsuya was in controlling his physical enhancement.  Most normal people do not move in blurs.  He didn't have to intervene though because as fast as Katsuya was moving, he stopped just as quickly to greet a little old lady stepping out the door.  "Katsuya-chan, you are always in a hurry.  Slow down!  Listen to your Oba-san, there is nothing worth that much hurry."

 

Jou bowed slightly.  "Forgive me.  I'm late today and my father..."

 

"Is sound asleep, his snores will wake the dead."  Light grey eyes flicked over Jou's shoulder.  "You brought a friend with you today, Katsuya-chan.  Introduce him to me please."

 

"Ah, yeah, Obasan, I mean, uhm, Ito-san meet my sempai, Kaiba Seto.  Seto, this is Ito-san."  Jou stepped back and gestured between them.

 

To the blond's surprise the elder woman drew herself up to her full height and glared.  "School friend?  Indeed.  Make sure it stays that way."  She turned away from Seto dismissively.  "Katsuya, I'm going to the market.  Would you like something?"

 

"Ah, no thank you Obasan."  He mumbled, visibly puzzled by the normally friendly woman's coldness.

 

She lingered to ask "More lotion for your skin?  It's getting close to summer and I know the sun dries you out as it gets hotter."  She gave Seto a piercing look.  "Our boy loves the sun more than life.  When he first moved here his skin was as sickly white as yours.  It has been years since that day, but now he spends hours a day in his personal space soaking up the rays of the sun.  His skin is beautiful and healthy, more golden than the richest coins."

 

Seto glanced away from the old woman's regard.  He knew exactly how beautiful Jou's skin was, how warm and vibrant, and he knew how pale and colorless he was next to the blond.  He wasn't going to dignify her barb with a response.

 

Jou sputtered "Obasan!  He doesn't need to know all that.  Besides, I think his skin is much more beautiful, pale and flawless like moonlight.  I love the sun but I think the moon is gorgeous too."    Jou gave the old woman a fondly exasperated glance.  "You don't need to worry about me Obasan.  I just got a new bottle of lotion."  Jou dropped a light kiss on the air above her wrinkled cheek.  "Love you."

 

The elder smiled up at the blond teen with concerned eyes.  "I will always worry for you Katsuya-chan."  She threw a frowning glance at Kaiba.  "Watch that one.  His type always causes trouble."  In an undisguised show of disrespect she coughed and spat on the ground at Seto's feet before stalking off with as much vigor as possible for a bent old woman.

 

Color tinting his golden cheeks slightly red, Jou mumbled "Ah sorry about that.  She gets kinda protective of me.  They all do, since the fire a couple years ago."  The blond opened the door and gestured Kaiba in.

 

Seto glanced around the hall, his sharp eyes not missing the grimy looking walls that someone had obviously tried to clean, his sensitive nose breathing in the clean, fresh scent that filled the air despite the the obvious disrepair of the place.  "Fire?"

 

"Yeah, the upper floors caught fire.  Nobody knows how because they weren't rented.  The plumbing had sprung a leak a while before that and the landlord just had the water shut off instead of fixing the pipes.  Can't rent apartments without running water.  Some kind of law.  Fire was the middle of the night so everyone was home in bed.  I was up on the roof checking on my babies when I saw the flames make a hole in the roof and ran down to get everyone out."

 

"So they are grateful.  It makes sense."  Seto nodded.  "Your babies?"

 

"Yeah, you wanna see?  If my dad's asleep, we don't wanna wake him, 'cause he'll start swinging if we do.  He’ll wake up on his own when he gets hungry."  Jou shoved his hands into his pockets, and hunched defensively.  He wasn't ashamed but when he compared his dad with Seto's, there wasn't a lot of good in it.

 

"I'd be honored if you would show me your 'babies.'"  Seto smiled slightly.  "I'm going to assume they are not living children, though."

 

"You'd be wrong. They’re alive."  Jou grinned at him and in a burst of preternatural speed darted up the stairs.  Seto, after a quick glance around to make sure he wasn't observed, leapt after him in a burst of equal speed and stayed right on the running blond's heels all the way up the four flights of stairs and out a small door that lead to a surprisingly large rooftop.

 

Seto stopped abruptly as he took in what should have been a barren, tar paper and asphalt urban wasteland.   Instead, raised beds of soil, studded with thick healthy plants, a large, lush green 'lawn' and a sturdy lean-to, protecting a wire and mesh pen of what looked like rabbits covered the area.  "What..."

 

"Ah, it started as a place for me to give my dad space when he got down or had a visitor.  I've been coming up here for a long time and I just... I brought stuff that made me feel good.  The grass is... I fixed a leak with some mud and a few weeks later grass sprouted.  So I brought more mud up, used boards to keep it neat, and did chores to earn some good grass seed from the guy at the hardware store.  The plants came from more seeds I got from doing chores.  I set some aside a few to seed next growing season.  I change my plants by season.  Right now there are strawberries, beans, cabbage, spinach, carrots and tomatoes.  Food can get really short sometimes but if I grow some it's easier.  In the fall I plant daikon and some squash, which is why they are on raised beds.  Don't know if you know but daikon can be a over half a metre long.  Nothing better than sliced daikon grilled over a fire on a cold day."

 

"You grow all this?  For yourself?  I didn’t know you were this poor Jounouchi."  Seto stared around him in shock.

 

"You look at all this and think I'm poor?  Are you nuts?  Fancy people pay big bucks to have fresh, organic, all natural stuff.  I eat like a king.  It's not just for me though, it's for everyone including my furry friends.  There are seven people who live in the first two floors of the building.  Me and my dad and five other people.  Like I said the other three floors are not rented."  Moodily Jou turned to the pen under the lean-to.  Absently he began to feed the bunnies handfuls of green leaves and pellets of what looked like dried leaves.  

 

Seto wanted to kick himself for his thoughtless remark.  Jounouchi had opened up to him, and what had he done?  Insulted the blond.  "I apologize.  I spoke without thinking.  Rabbits.  You have pets?  What are their names."  He tried to undo the damage done by his ignorance and ego.

 

For a few heartbeats it seemed that Katsuya would ignore his olive branch, then with a shrug, the blond replied,  "You said it, I'm poor.  I can't pay for pets, Kaiba.  I have two males - they are the large lop-eared that ate first.  These girls are breeders for meat rabbits.  Right now I have ten, you see that, but all of the females are pregnant.  Each one will have about twenty rabbits a year.  I keep girls two years and then replace each with one from the last year's litter.  I pick the largest and meatiest to keep so that I get larger rabbits the next time around to eat."  Katsuya smiled slightly, "I got my first rabbits because the runts were culled from the litters, thrown out to die in the trash.  I raised them by hand and I've bred them to be bigger and bigger each year.  Now they are bigger than the keepers at the fur place.  They don't throw out runts any more."

 

Seto blinked at the blond in shock.  Jounouchi had always seemed easy going and loving, but the deliberate farming of animals for food was outside that perception.  "I don't know what to say to that."  But he had plenty to think about.  He'd always considered Katsuya bright and shining emotionally, but a little dim and ill-equipped mentally.  This piece of information shot that theory to hell because no one could figure out a way to feed seven people every two or three days, plus grow vegetables, basically design a complete ecosystem on a rooftop, and generate income, and be 'dim.'

 

Jou sighed and tossed a final handful of food into the pen.  With movements made easy by repetition, he uncoiled a hose and pressed the trigger on a spray nozzle, releasing water into a clean, still partially full trough.  Seto traced the hose back to what looked like a rain and dew collection system.  "I eat meat Kaiba, but my dad... Well we don't always have money to buy it.  I'm not mean, and I kill them with a single hit.  I make sure they don't hurt or get scared.  Them dying  also helps the people here in winter, not just as food for stews and soups, but their skins are sold to some guys down the street.  That money pays to keep the people here in warmth when it’s freezing and there’s no money to pay the bills.  It didn't bug me when you said your people drank human blood and ate animal flesh to survive because I've done it for years.  The animal flesh I mean, the human blood is new."  Jou clarified.  "I even call them my babies, cause the first ones I hand fed with a doll baby bottle.  I'm sure you guys don't do that to the people you eat, raise them from babies and stuff.  It was really hard for me to kill my first rabbits, but it was that or starve.  Sometimes Kaiba, you do what you gotta do.  Sometimes it comes down to kill or die.  It's simple and it's a part of life."  The trough was full, so he turned and dragged the hose along the rooftop, fixing the nozzle into a metal ring formed by a bent clothes hanger.  Water began to trickle down an ingenious rain-gutter pipe system, feeding the plants and after a few moments, dribbling onto the incongruous patch of green grass.  Even that was planned to wick the excess back to the holding and collection containers.

 

Seto looked around the meticulously designed, completely unexpected, rooftop ecosystem.  "You designed all this."  The realization was enough to shock him to his toes.  "You designed and built this."

 

"Yeah, not like anyone else could help and it wasn't a design so much as when I needed something I found a way to make it work."  Slightly embarrassed, Jou turned and dragged his arched single split-pole hammock frame from behind his tools and centered it on the grass.  He grabbed his hammock, a hand woven marvel of macrame, and strung it between the two upthrust ends of the curved wood, spreading the ends to widen the hammock base.  "Sit down and watch the sunset, it's gonna be beautiful in a few minutes."

 

Seto blinked at the strangely elegant seat.  It's balanced shape and beautifully functional form no surprise to him, although an hour before it would have been.  "I have never sat in a hammock."

 

"It's easy.  I'll sit first, then you sit next to me.  I'll hold it still for you."  Jou got in with the ease of long practice and Seto, after a moment, following the blond's moves exactly, found himself sitting hip and shoulder next to Jounouchi Katsuya.

 

"Ah, now what?"  Seto asked, looking around curiously.

 

"That's it for today, just gotta wait for dad to wake up.  I have the water setup on a daily use system so it will run out when it reaches the limit for today.  I’ll start off tomorrow by watering because I did it so late today."  He shifted slightly and gazed out over the city skyline.  "I sometimes try to do homework and usually end up taking a nap."  Jou grinned sheepishly.  "Books and school work puts me to sleep."  The smile faded and a melancholy, wistful look took it's place.  "I try to do good in school, but I'm just not smart like that.  I can find answers to real problems, like watering the plants or getting food for everyone but ask me to figure out some number thing in a book and I'm clueless."  He leaned away from Seto slightly.  "I know, I'm dumb, my mom, my dad, you, the teachers, everyone says so, but I just can't change it.  I try hard but it's like everything is made in squares and I see circles."

 

Seto's breath caught in his throat and he looked around again.  What he saw highlighted what he'd realized earlier.  His perception of the blond's intelligence was way off because he had seriously underestimated Katsuya.  This place was not the work of a stupid person.  The angles of the irrigation system with its reclamation and timing, the way the sun was used to nourish the plants and keep the animals warm, the use of things most would consider trash to create a productive environment that thrived where logic said it shouldn't was a work of creative genius with an understanding of nature that bordered on savant.  Even the hammock frame, with its perfectly shaped and balanced arc, and complex, sturdy woven hammock showed an understanding of geometry and physics that no book could ever teach.  "I will never say that again.  I will never think it again!  You are far from stupid.  This place is a work of engineering artistry that rivals some of Michelangelo's early works.  Never call yourself stupid again.  If you do I will knock some sense into you."  Remorse made his voice unexpectedly harsh.

 

A wry smile tilted the corners of the blond's mouth.  "Now you sound like the people who live here.  You don't have to lie to me.  I'm not feeding you after all.  I'm your responsibility.  I won't believe what you say.  Stop feeling guilty, it's not your fault I am dumb."

 

"If I wasn't afraid I'd fall out of this thing I'd hit you.  I don't lie to make people feel good or because of some imaginary guilt.  I don't have time to keep up that kind of deception.  Sooner or later I'd slip and hurt your feelings more.  I meant what I said.  If you argue I really will hit you and we'll both end up on the ground."  Seto snapped.

 

Jou turned so fast that the hammock barely swayed.  Wide golden eyes searched Seto's blue gaze hopefully.  "You mean that?  Really?"  The blond reached out with a tentative hand, almost touching his chest only to let his hand drop back into his lap.

 

"Of course we'd end up on the ground."  Seto groused pettishly.

 

"Not that.  You know what I mean!  About me not being stupid?  Everyone's always said I was, even my mom.  You'd be the only one to ever say I wasn't who I wasn't taking care of.  Even they say it sometimes."  Jou admitted, his eyes still hopeful.

 

"I've already said I did."  Seto glowered "I dislike repeating myself."  He hesitated slightly.  "Why is it so important that I say it though?  I thought you hated me."

 

Color tinted Jou's golden cheeks and he turned his head away.  "It just is."  A loud jangling from what sounded like tin cans had the blond scrambling out of the hammock.  "That's my dad letting me know he's awake.  Let's go."  Jou ran to the door in a flash.  Seto had just extricated himself from the unfamiliar chair when Jou stopped and looked back at him.  The setting sun washing his golden skin with a pink hue that made his eyes seem darker, more solemn.  "Oh and Kaiba, I never hated ya."  In a blur the blond was gone.

 

Seto glanced around at the evidence of Jou's incredibly deep talent for caring and with a sigh opened his cell phone.  He had been right.  Jounouchi Katsuya was going to be a major pain in the ass, but, looking at the bunnies in their pen, the brunet smiled slightly.  Definitely worth it.  Dialing his brother's number, he took a few minutes to let Mokuba know what was going on and to explain his plan.  In just a couple minutes his bright brother not only grasped the situation but was already moving ahead by leaps and bounds.  

 

Seto pocketed his phone just as Jounouchi's voice reached him from inside the stairwell.  "Yo!  Kaiba my dad wants to meet you."  

 

Smirking slightly, the brunet decided to have a little fun.  "Yes dear."  Jou was gaping as he ran down the stairs to stop just inches from the blond.  "You look like a goldfish.  Close your mouth."

 

"Holy shit Kaiba, how fast are you?  'Cause I swear you were just a streak."  Was Jou's whispered comment.

 

"Almost as fast as you.  I should be faster but I'm not."  Seto pretended to frown, then grinned.   "I'm out of shape.  We'll have to run together."

 

"To..."  Jou shook his head.  "What th' hell did you call me?  Deer?  Is it hunting season?"

 

"Not the animal."  Seto huffed slightly, a bit irritated that he hadn't caught the humor.  "That's what all henpecked husbands say when their wives get too demanding."

 

"Eh, oh.  Ha ha?  You have a weird sense of humor.  Ya ain't my wife and I hope you don't feel henpecked.  I don't want to be a bother to you."  Jou gave a puzzled smile and then shrugged.  "But okay."  It was obvious Seto's inference about their relationship had flown over the blond head.

 

Seto bit back his first response, which was to tease by asking if it was 'weird' the same way tasting his blood had been 'weird?'   He was Kaiba Seto and Kaiba Seto did not tease.  Instead he nodded slightly, "Your dad wanted to meet me?"

 

"Yeah, I told him the teacher asked me to stay after school today and since you were asked too, you brought me home because it was getting dark."  Jou flashed him a bright, laughing smile.  "He thinks you're a nice guy and wants to thank you for looking out for me."

 

Seto nodded slightly.  "Lead the way."  He gestured for the blond to proceed.

 

The elder Jounouchi was much as Kaiba expected.  Coarser, meaner looking, certainly dirtier, and obviously having lived a hard life, there was still no denying the resemblance between Katsuya and his father.  "Jounouchi-san.  I am pleased to meet you."  Seto said politely as he bowed.

 

The older blond stared at him for a moment, then turned to his son.  "Katsuya, I want yams for dinner tonight.  Go down to the market and get some yams.  I will keep your friend company."  He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a few yen notes.  "Go now.  Don't argue with me boy or I'll knock you on your ass."

 

"Ah hee, Seto I'll be right back.  Dad gets these cravings sometimes."  With a quick apologetic look Jou ran from the room clutching the money.

 

The remaining Jounouchi stared at him with hard, cold eyes.  "Upyri, my son is off limits to you.  Try to take him and you will get a nasty surprise."

 

"You recognize me."  Seto contained his surprise well.

 

"Of course.  You are of the original line of the first betrayers of Ishtar, despoilers of Tiamat, and thieves of Utu-Ina-Bau."  The elder glared with fiery eyes.

 

"I don't understand what that means."  Seto met the gaze directly.

 

"Ignorance or denial doesn't change what is fact.  Your father, Gilgamesh, used our Goddess Ishtar's lust for his body to steal her Utu-Ina-Bau - the gift of life and resurrection received from Tiamat - to bring Enkidu back to life, almost immortal life.  They didn't want to be parted by death again, so they tricked Tiamat into coming to them by promising the return of the stolen Utu-Ina-Bau.  Instead they captured her and defiled her, stealing her maidenhead and tumbling her from grace, then stealing her Utu-Ina-Bau.  They hid both pieces of Utu-Ina-Bau near the springs at the mouth of the great river.  It wore away, but all who drank it were changed.  Of course the ones who had partaken of it, and shared the holy blood of Tiamat's virginity were changed the most."

 

"Gilgamesh left us long ago.  He was not my father.  I have never heard this tale.  Who are you and what do you mean by nasty surprise?"  Seto absorbed the historical facts, but focused on what was relevant to now.

 

"The line within you is directly from the betrayers.  You are their child.  They chose to hide the truth, their vanity not wanting them to be seen as what they truly were."  Disgust was in every line of the older man's body.  "And the surprise?  We are the children of the Sacred Women of Ishtar.  Our mothers bathed in the springs and received more Utu-Ina-Bau from the waters, they received more through their  holy duties.  Because of our closeness to our Goddess, we never became Upyri, and we retain our ability to bear children as was always intended."

 

"Holy women of Ishtar?  Courtesans?  Uruk was a city of Courtesans."  Seto tried to wrap his head around Katsuya descended from priestess courtesans.  "That is a surprise but not nasty.  What exactly do you mean?"

 

A tiny smile curved the man's lips.  "I almost wish you would transform him.  It would be very satisfying to see the line of the betrayers humbled."

 

"That is enough old man.  Tell me what you mean."  Seto was growing concerned.  This man was too smug, too filled with hate.  If Katsuya was a threat Seto wanted to know about it now.

 

"It is no secret I suppose.  Upyri take life partners, but they also take others for procreation, or simply recreational sex.  You are not a monogamous species.  Although we descend from courtesans, once mated, there can never be another, ever, not for either partner.  Our lines merge with our partner's.  Lay with someone else and you will die, your line absorbed by your partner.  The absorbing of so much power kills the remaining partner.  You call the weak villager offspring Malka.  We are not Malka, Kaiba Seto, we are Ilati-Inu."  A small grin tugged at the other man's deeply grooved lips.

 

"I'll just have to convert him to find the answer because I don't see how that is a 'nasty' surprise."  Seto threatened casually.  "There have been monogamous relationships in the Upyri."

 

"You haven't spent much time with him have you?"  The grin turned to a sneer.  "Do you know why the Upyri didn't know about us before this very moment?  It's because we are secret, hidden.  Anyone who breaks that edict is killed."  He shifted restlessly, and shrugged.  "We are peaceful but we watch and occasionally take strategic action against your people, although we don't wage an outright war.  Our people are the ones who have embellished the vampire myths, and we keep it in the forefront, so that your people will never be free to walk among non-betrayers openly.  We know we do not have your powers or your financial resources so we stay a secret, sharing our history in stories with our young children until they are old enough to join in the battle.  Katsuya was born different, his pregnancy and birth were very prolonged and difficult.  The doctors attribute his low intelligence to that troubled birth.  He has always been behind the others his age.  When they were crawling he was learning to roll over, when they were walking he could barely crawl.  They were learning to read before he could talk and speak in full sentences.  Despite that he was treated as every other child and his education of our history began with bedtime stories from his mother."

 

Here the man paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.  "You know that only those students with profound disabilities such as blindness, deafness and severe mental retardation are eligible to receive special education services. My son didn’t qualify as such. When Katsuya started school he was placed with other students his age and struggled to keep up.  When he was ten, his class was studying geography and one of the assignments was to label a modern map with ancient names.  Katsuya told everyone the stories his mother told him, about Gilgamesh, Enkidu, our history and yours as well.  He was too stupid to keep his mouth shut.  The teacher was concerned about his grasp on reality and called my wife.  She went and picked him up immediately.  The offense was so grave she brought him immediately to our leader.  According to our laws, Katsuya was to be put to death.  I and several others pleaded for leniency, he was spared, but those of us who pleaded for his life were charged with taking care of him and stopping him from discussing our secrets.  To protect everyone, we were cast out and sentenced to live outside the society of our people."

 

"Your leader sentenced a child to die?  Why?  Surely nobody took his story seriously; he was a child."  Seto tried to fathom such logic.

 

The Ilati-Inu gave him a condescending look.  "What would have been your father's reaction had you come home from school talking about a boy who claimed to be descended from Sumerian's, who knew the legend of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and changes?  It would have been at least investigated.  We know very well that you kill most of the Malka you come across.  Except for a few over the centuries, once they become involved with Upyri, they disappear and are never seen again.  We did not want your people to do the same to us."

 

Seto held his tongue because he realized that nothing he said would convince this man he and his people were not demons.  Something nibbled on the edge of his consciousness, but before he could puzzle it out, Katsuya's distinctly cheerful voice called out, "Dad I got the yams, and you're not gonna believe it, but Suzuki-san had an some extra fish.  I'll grill it for us while the yam is cooking."

 

"Sounds like a feast."  The elder blond smiled slightly at his son.  "Your friend was just saying he had to go.  Why don't we walk him down together?"

 

Jou grinned and nodded.  "Okay, let me put this stuff down in the kitchen."  He disappeared into the small room and carefully placed the bag on the table and dashed back in to join Seto and his father.

 

The elder Jounouchi switched his gaze to his son.  "Yeah, but instead of grilling them indoors, why don't we go up to your garden?  You like eating there most right?  And the stars are beautiful tonight.  You always like to sleep in that hammock under the stars."  

 

"Uh dad.  It's a school night.  You always say I can't do that on a school night because I stay up watching the stars and oversleep."  Jou reminded as he turned and led the way from the apartment.

 

"Tonight, It will be okay."  Strangely, he reached out and clasped his son's arm gently.  "I don't think school will be a problem."

 

"Thanks Dad!  I won't let you down."  Jou promised, eyes shining with happiness.

 

"No son, I know you won't."  It should have been reassuring, but to Seto it sounded ominous.

 

Seto would have had to be blind not to see the way the blond lit up under the affectionate touch, praise and unexpected boon.  Warning jangled along the brunet Upyri's nerves.  Something was off.  Why the affection when it was obvious that there was precious little between the father and son, and why was the father suddenly benevolent when it was equally obvious that it was not normal between the two.  More unease slithered down Seto's spine.  Something was very wrong.

 

On the main floor, their path was blocked by a group of five people in what seemed like a silent debate, complete with dramatic gestures and intense, conflicted expressions, but none of them were saying a word.  When Jou called out "Obasan, you're crying!  Are you alright?  Did you hurt yourself carrying your groceries?  Did someone hurt you?"  The last was asked with more than a hint of menace.

 

"No, no, I'm all right Katsuya-chan.  I just got some distressing news about a family member is all."  She squared her shoulders and resolutely blinked back the tears plainly visible in her eyes.  "Katsuya-chan, Suzuki-san has said he gave you his extra fish.  Would you be grilling up in the garden tonight?  It's going to be a beautiful night."  The group seemed to deliberately ignore Kaiba which was just fine with him.  His flight or fight response was sending out signals all over the place.

 

"Yeah, dad said I could even sleep up there."  Jou's smile spread from ear to ear.  "Come join me?  I'll split my fish with you."

 

"What a great idea, but I'd rather make a vegetable curry.  Why don't I bring some of that up?  And I know Yamada-san has some ice cream to go with your strawberries."

 

A tall thin woman with a frown so deep it could have been carved into her bones, stepped forward, "I have a new tea I'd love to have you try.  It's reputed to be heavenly."

 

"Ah man, a feast.  Kaiba you hear that?  I'm gonna have all of my favorite foods in my most favorite spot in the world, with my family hanging out with me."  He hesitated, "Everyone this is my friend Kaiba Seto.  You'll probably be seeing him around.  I'll introduce you all later.  Right now he has somewhere to be and we have a feast to get ready for."

 

Jou and his father waved as Seto drove away, neither aware of concerned blue eyes watching them in the rear-view mirror.  He had gotten halfway home when a deep pang of realization went through him.  What had been off had been the lack of anger, fear, or any other emotion that could reasonably be expected of a group of people who had literally had their greatest nightmare brought into their home.  The most discernable emotions had been resignation and in the case of Ito-san, Jou's Obasan, sadness.  Why sadness?  And why had Jou's father confronted him at all.  There had been no reason, none.  “Unless they needed a reason..."  He murmured aloud.

 

His tires laid down a trail of rubber on the street as they smoked from the force of his braking.  He had to get back to Jounouchi, and he didn't have time to waste on traffic and slow cars.  He could travel faster on foot than any car ever made.  He didn't care if the falling night hid him or not.  He had to get back to Katsuya.  In a flash almost too fast for the human eye to see, he was out of the car and racing through the night.

 

He didn't bother trying to go through the building, he knew that they would try to stop him from reaching Jou.  They were probably positioned at every level, and Seto didn't doubt they had weapons that would slow him down, if not stop him.  Instead, he leapt to the side of the building, reaching the third floor windows in a single bound, and with all the grace and speed of a jet propelled spider, scaled the walls and vaulted onto the roof landing just inches from Jou's patch of grass.

 

His heart stopped, literally stopped, when he saw the sprawled form of the blond next to a plate of half eaten fish, and the empty bowls that had to have held the curry and ice cream.  The cup of 'heavenly’ tea was empty as well.  "Oh fuck, I'm too late."  Anxiously he knelt beside the other teen reaching out to feel for a pulse, expecting to find none.

 

Jou's hand caught his before he could make contact.  "Finally figured it out did you?  I wondered what took you so long.  You're a genius after all."  The blond sat up and shook himself like a giant pup.  "The fish is was okay.  I dumped the other stuff in the compost bin.  Dumped the tea down the rain gutter."

 

"I was gone fourteen minutes and was halfway home before it hit me.  It took me five to get back here only to find you didn't need me at all."  Seto glared and answered defensively before he realized exactly what Jou's words meant.  "You... You knew?  You were so happy!  It was all an act?"

 

"Not really an act."  Jou stood and moved to his bunny pen, absently feeding them a few pellets at a time.  "I was happy that they cared enough about me to want me to have a good last meal, even if they didn't hang to watch.  That kinda sucked, but I was glad when they left, too.  Yeah, I heard everything Dad told you.  I've always thought that time was a dream, and I didn't really remember most of it in detail.  After you told me about yourself I was... well the memories got stronger.  Then when I heard what he said I knew everything was real."

 

"You brought me here knowing I was your - their - enemy?"

 

"I didn't know, not for sure then because it was like a dream, and afterwards it was too late.  I knew you would be okay because not only do you have a bazillion bodyguards but I could feel how scared of you they were.  They aren't the kind who attack, believe me I can tell.  What he said, how he was feeling when he was talking to you, what all of them, even Obasan, felt, are feeling is a kind of guilty relief.  Sadness, relief, and some of them were kind of happy."

 

"So you knew they were going to... You were going to let them kill you?  Just roll over and die because they were happy?"  Seto glared, that was taking things too far on the wimp side. Upyri were strong.

 

"No."  Abruptly a smile edged with more than a hint of malice touched the blond's lips.  "They wanted to go home so badly that they would kill to do it.  They didn't have to tell you about the Ilati-Inu or anything else.  My father told you so that he could manipulate the situation to be rid of me without hypocrisy, the urgency of their message - that the Upyri King knew of Ilati-Inu existence - would have guaranteed their admittance to the fold if I were dead. They should have just gone.  I didn't ask them for their sacrifice.  For killing me, trying to kill me, they will never go home."

 

"What did you do?"  Alarm flared through Seto.  There was something not quite normal about Jou's eyes.  It was as if a demon was staring from the normally childishly innocent eyes.

 

"They all love strawberries.  I personally picked the strawberries for their ice cream."  The smile widened as the demon-gold eyes gleamed in the dark.  "I cut my finger and sprinkled two drops on each berry.  Murderous bastards were eating them like candy when they left me here to die."  The demon faded, leaving the golden eyes empty of everything but betrayal and melancholy tears.  "Why does everyone I care about want me dead?  First my mother, then you, and now my dad and people I've thought of as family for years.  I must be really stupid because I just don't know why I am so horrible that everyone wants me dead."

 

Seto sighed and shook his head, wrapping his arms around Jou in an instinctive hug.  "You really don't know do you?"  When the blond grizzled into his chest and shook his head, Seto gently stroked the his hands down the slim, strong back.  "It's because you are different, and different scares people.  You used to terrify me.  If you terrified me, just think what you did to the lesser creatures."

 

"I scared you?  Why?  I mean you're bigger, stronger, got money coming out your ass.  What's to be scared of about me?"  Jou mumbled, snuggling closer to Seto, wrapping his arms around the brunet's trim waist and squeezing lightly.

 

"You were always so bright and happy, as if you didn't have a care in the world.  Nothing seemed to bother you, not bad grades or insults, nothing.  You seemed impervious, and you are still largely oblivious, although I don't think that's the right word any longer, to the world around you.  I was terrified that you, my one bright spot, would dim.  It's why I stayed far away from you.  I didn't want you tainted by the mess in my life."

 

"Wait, what?  Are you saying you were afraid of me because I was cheerful?  You didn't want to be my friend because you thought you'd bring me down?"

 

"Simplistic, but yes.  That sums it up."  Seto squeezed him back.  "So, can I assume you'll live with me now?"

 

Jou chuckled and shook his head, stepping back.  With a small grin he pushed back Seto's tumbled bangs.  "Nah, If they wake up I'm going to give them more strawberry blood and make them Upyri.  Figure nothing will get a person over a shitload of hate except walking in the shoes of the other guys."

 

"Katsuya they may not survive the transformation.  If they do they will be a challenge.  Are you up to being responsible for them?"

 

"Nah, not really.  I figure we'll just go on as we were except now they are Upyri."  Jou shrugged slightly.  "I don't think they will die though.  Let's go check on them."

 

"I'm surprised you were able to wait this long."  Seto remarked as they crossed to the rooftop exit.

 

Jou stopped at the door, his hand on the knob, but not turning it.  "I'm still pissed and my temper is bad.  Only reason I'm checking on them now is because I think you'll stop me from kicking the shit out of them while they're down."

 

"Killing them or transforming them wasn't enough for you?"  That surprised the brunet Upyri.

 

"No.  Like I said I got a bad temper.  I work hard to control it but when it slips it's like a bomb goes off.  Not mad, like pissed mad when you would tell me I stink, but seriously angry, where the world turns red.  Boom and shit's all broken."  Golden eyes flicked to him anxiously.  "Don't let me hurt them okay?  I'm still seeing a little red."

 

"How do I stop you?  I'm not going to take hits trying to protect them."

 

"Ah, uhm, what you did earlier when I was seeing mostly red.  You hugged me.  I never turn down hugs, no matter how angry I get."  

 

"Won't that just make you madder?  You needed a hug earlier but you've always given me a 'straight' vibe.  I don't want to get hit because I touched off your homophobia."

 

"I'm not that.  Besides you said you can be a girl or boy so how could you do that?  I just don't think about sex like everyone else at school does."  Jou smiled slightly and appraised him in the moonlight.  "But I don't think I have a straight vibe or whatever because I have thought about how smooth and pretty your skin is, and I've kinda pictured you naked with cream all over you."  With a deft turn of the knob Jou opened the door and slipped through the opening, leaving a stunned, gaping King behind him.

 

Katsuya's muffled exclamation brought Seto out of his mullet-like trance and he hurried through the door only to stop again.  "They didn't get far."  He observed casually.  The bodies of several people were sprawled down the stairs.  "Just how many of them are there?  Are there more?"

 

"No, just these six.  Hmm, they really look dead."  The blond sounded vaguely surprised at that.

 

"I don't know what the results of what you did is going to be.  A transformed Malka has never transformed another to the best of my knowledge, and I don't know of any Upyri who has transformed so many, at once or over years.  It just... well let's just say it's a challenge.  I know for a fact that strawberries are new, too."

 

Jou shrugged.  "I'll feed 'em the rest of the strawberries if they need more for transforming.  Uhm... what was that injected stuff?  Can you show me because I don't think I have fangs."

 

"You have them, I just don't think you want to go sticking them in people who want to kill you.  I meant it when you can see what is in their hearts.  We might have to find a way to inject it into them.  I don't think the strawberries will work in this case."

 

"Huh.  You're probably right.  I get enough of that just by being around them  Would needles do?  Obasan is diabetic and has to give herself shots.  I have to get her needles for her on my way home from school so I know where she keeps them."

 

"It might work."  Seto was doubtful but anything was worth trying. He honestly didn't believe the blond would be able to withstand the assault he would have to weather through the final transference and imprinting.

 

"Hey grab my dad's feet will you?  I'm going to get his upper half.  Let's get them up to the roof."  At Seto's questioning look Jou shrugged.  "They tried to kill me, don't think I'm going to break my back carrying them anywhere."

 

"Katsuya, you haven't noticed your physical changes have you?"  Seto asked rhetorically.  He bent and scooped the nearest body up, tossing it over his shoulder with ease and turning back to the roof door.

 

Jou blinked after him for a moment, then tried to do the same to Suzuki-san.  To his surprise he lifted the fully grown man easily.  With a grunt of amusement he began the not so hard task of carrying his seemingly lifeless family back onto the roof and laying them out on the soft patch of grass.

 

They didn't show any signs of waking so Jou stepped away and turned to look out over the city.  "Gonna be a long night."  He observed quietly.

 

"Same number of hours as always."  Seto responded just as softly, crossing to stand next to him, looking out at the city lights.

 

"I know, but that doesn't have anything to do with it."  Jou shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched forward.  "I should be like them shouldn't I?  Like dead."

 

"They are more consistent with what we know of Malka transformation."  The older Upyri accorded.  "But we are in unknown realms here because it has never been recorded that a Malka has transformed another Malka, much less six others.  It may be impossible Katsuya."  Seto warned.  "They may truly be dead, die, or have to be killed.  If they wake and survive their second set of strawberries, we want to be prepared for the the final step.  You should go get the needles.  I'll teach you how to lower your fangs and how to release the finishing elements. "

 

"Thanks."  Jou sighed and instead of stepping away, nestled into his side.  "I don't want to be a burden to you.  I get that you don't like me much, so I'm grateful.  I'll try not to be after I get them up and around okay?"

 

Seto wrapped his arm around the blond and consciously relaxed, curving around him.  "Liking isn't an issue.  I like you just fine.  Now that I don't have to worry about giving in to temptation and transforming you or leading other Upyri to you, I think I'll like you even more, so don't worry about being a burden."  He was surprised when Jou snuggled even closer.  "You're very affectionate - not that I mind."  He added hastily.  "I just never really noticed it before."

 

"Oh yeah I love to hug and cuddle, just nobody to do it with.  I have a pillow I hug and cuddle when the ache gets too bad."  The blond tried to pull away, only to find himself held firm.

 

"Ache?  It hurts you not to touch others?" Sometimes Seto ached to hug his brother, especially when the boy was happy or sad, but it was an emotional need more than a physical one.  His brother had declared himself too old for hugs and 'sloppy stuff' at his last birthday party.  It was something that Seto didn't agree with, but since it was Mokuba's wish, Seto had abided by it.

 

"Yeah.  Can't really describe it except...," the blond hesitated then shrugged, "... except like when I see red and get mad I want to tear things up.  When I hurt like that, everything is like, golden and soft and all I want is to touch and feel everything as part of me.  The pillow helps because nobody here really touches me at all."

 

"Hmph.  If you need a hug or something, come to me. Before you say anything about being a burden or whatever, my family doesn't hug or touch either and I miss my brother's hugs."

 

"Really?"  Jou lit up like he'd been given the best gift in the world.  "Really, really?  I'd love that, I mean it too.  I..."  He bit his lip, his golden eyes hesitant.  "I might wanna sleep with you too if you don't mind?  I always wanted to curl up against someone and feel them when I sleep."

 

Seto couldn't stop the inappropriate - or perhaps premature? - images that flooded his mind, dropping his mentality down into the gutter.  It was only the hesitancy in Jou's expression that stopped Seto from expressing precisely how and why he absolutely wouldn't mind.  With inhuman control, Seto nodded jerkily.  "I won't mind.  I think I'd enjoy feeling you too."

 

"Great."  Jou faltered for a moment.  "Uh, Kaiba about what I said earlier.  You aren't thinking I meant anything weird pervy just now?  I'm not going to do sexy stuff to you.  I really don't care about that kind of stuff.  I know people gotta do it if they want kids, but I remember what you said about not wanting stupid kids.  I promise I won't do anything like that to you.  Hugs and cuddles only."  A small squeeze and Jou stepped away, dislodging Seto's arm and spinning to jog briskly across the roof to the door.

 

Humor, honest humor, made Seto laugh as he tried to picture Katsuya's expression when the blond realized that Seto would willingly, gratefully, accept the so-called ‘weird pervy stuff’.'  It was going to be an amazing moment.  Anticipation bubbled through him and he listened closely for the sound of Jou's return, only to gasp and jerk in shock as he heard Jou's voice, and that of a woman in quiet conversation.  Without a care for the 'slumbering' people on the grass, Seto bolted downstairs.

 

Beautiful, stunning, earth shattering.  Those were the words that came to mind when Seto set eyes on the woman Jou was nestled against.  Her scent was just as seductive - A mix of spring garden, sex, and blood.  Rage boiled through him and in a flash he had ripped Jou from the woman's arms.  With a low hiss he warned, "Leave."

 

"Oh can it.  You're as jealous as Enkidu."  She snorted.

 

Seto didn't care what name she pulled out of her ass.  The bitch had touched Katsuya.  "Why shouldn't I kill you for your offense?"

 

She laughed in genuine amusement.  "I'd really like to see you try.  Enkidu and Gilgamesh failed so I doubt a weak modern, distilled version of them could do any better.  Chill your hormones, child.  I have no lust for him.  He's all yours.  I was hugging him as a mother hugs her child."  She shrugged and the strap of her tunic slid down her shoulder enticingly.  "You on the other hand, could be fun.  The blood of both Enkidu and Gilgamesh means you will be insatiable."  She gave a small, entirely sexual shiver.  "Almost worth trying for - if I didn't know you were completely immune to me.  My child is a lucky man to join your lines."  She grinned at Seto and for the first time he noticed her fangs.

 

"You are... Who the hell are you?"

 

"Oh I'll let you figure that out on your own.  I stopped by to give Katsuya  this."  She handed Katsuya a small clear glass vial of glowing liquid.  "He will need it for his family.  A few drops on the strawberries with his blood will complete their transformations  You won't need the needles..  I'd normally just let them die but they still have their uses."  With another shrug that sent the other strap of her tunic down, leaving her garment held up only by her large breasts, the woman turned and swayed out of the room.  Seto followed her instantly only to stop abruptly because she was gone and only the lingering scents of blood, sex and flowers remained.

 

Seto turned back to Katsuya.  "Who was that?"

 

"Dunno, but she was pretty and smelled good.  I've never met a lady that smelled that good."  Jou sounded disgustingly love struck to Seto's sensitive ears.

 

"If you're into the type maybe."  Seto growled.  "What was it she gave you?"

 

"Not a clue.  Look Seto, I came down and was getting the needles off the top of the refrigerator.  I couldn't reach them and climbed up on a chair.  She appeared suddenly, surprised me and I fell off the chair.  She caught me and set me on the floor.  She said for me not to waste my time, the needles wouldn't work because my Utu-Ina-Bau Nasaku was not enough to save them."  The blond teen frowned slightly.  "Is that what it's called?  When you bit me?  Utu-Ina-Bau Nasaku?"

 

"That is the long name for it.  We just call it nasaku or bite."  Seto accorded.  "You don't know who she was, but you trust her?"

 

"What choice do I have?  She knew everything that was going on so she must have been watching.  If she wanted to harm us she could have at any time."

 

For the first time ever Seto saw a closed expression on Jou's face.  The blond was hiding something.  "What are you not telling me Katsuya?"

 

Golden eyes flashed wide, then were obscured by thick blond lashes, but they weren't quick enough to hide the panicked fear in Jou's eyes.  Not that Seto needed to see the emotion, he was aware of the jump in the blond's normally steady pulse.  "Nothing.  Really, I told you, I just think that we can trust her.  She felt safe."  Chagrin crossed Jou's face and he turned away.  "Let's go check on them."

 

They were exactly as they had been when they left.  But that didn't stop the blond visually checking each of his 'family' in detail, although Seto was surprised to notice that Katsuya didn't touch them, not even his father.  As affectionate as the blond was, it seemed unnatural for him not to touch them.

 

Before Seto ask about the strange reticence, Jou stood and walked to the pile of unidentifiable things and came out carrying a stool and what looked like a small folding card table.  "You have a deck?"

 

"Deck?"  The blond was baffled for a moment.  "Oh.  No this isn't a table, it's my easel.  I paint when I get the time.  It's gonna be a long night and I want to paint by starlight."  Jou nodded to him.  "Your phone light has been flashing through your pocket since you got back.  I figure it's important.  Then I bet you will have email or whatever it is you do at school.  Business stuff.  I don't expect you to hang with me.  I can paint and draw, in fact I love it more than anything."

 

"Oh."  It disconcerted Seto that not only had he not noticed his phone signal flashing, but that he hadn't thought of his company or working at all.  The LED color told him it was Gozaburo.  He didn't feel like dealing with the family head at the moment.  He'd thought they would sit in the hammock and look at the stars, and he really wanted some quiet time to talk to Katsuya.  "Of course you're right."

 

Jou smiled at him, his teeth flashing in the starlight.  "I'll just set up my stuff and leave you alone.  If you get hun...uhm... if you need anything let me know."

 

"Katsuya, if I get hungry I'll snack on one of your bunnies.  Blood exchanged between you and I will lead to things not related to nourishment."  Seto watched as the blond set up his easel and laid a flat piece of wood on the stool.  When no answer or even any kind of response was forthcoming, Seto changed the subject.  "Do you have any samples of your work?  I'd like to see some paintings."

 

"You're not going to call whoever that is back?"  Jou glanced up curiously.

 

"Maybe after I see some of your work.  It is just my father - the head of families are always called father no matter what their blood relationship is.  I don't want to talk to him.  I'd rather see your work, if there's some available?"

 

"Uh, yeah, I guess.  Nobody's ever wanted to see it before.  You can look while I change.  I can't wreck my pants or your shirt.  I have some old clothes I wear to paint in.  C'mon, follow me."

 

Seto followed the blond around the back of the stack of miscellaneous tools.  He expected to see a stack of covered paintings or something, instead, Jou grinned mischievously at him and bent down, tugging on what looked like a random rusty piece of rebar.  A whole section of the roof lifted and a rope ladder descended down, inside the building.  "A secret room?"  Seto teased.

 

"Sorta.  It's unlocked right now but if it was locked you wouldn't get in unless you took down the building."  The blond shrugged and disappeared down the ladder.  Seto scrambled after him.  "After the fire I started trying to fix the place up, thinking we could use the rooms for some of the homeless people on the block, but after... but later I... I changed my mind and made this place just for me.  I salvaged stuff from old buildings that were being torn down."  There was a click and soft white light flooded the area.   "The owners boarded up the entrances, there is no way to get in here but through my door.  There was a hole in the roof I fixed and made into my door.  There were holes in the walls that I cleaned up and braced so I can get to all four of the apartments."  He tilted his head and nodded towards the nearest wall.  "That's the stuff I painted first.  If you follow the halls you will find the most recent in the back apartment.  I'm almost out of space so I'll have to box up some of the older stuff."

 

Seto didn't look at the pictures, he was staring at the glowing light in Jou's hand.  "What is that?  It's too small to be a flashlight."

 

"Oh, uhm?  It's just something I figured out.  LED's take just a little bit of energy and a little salt water and some metal and I have light.  It's not a lot, but down here, with the windows and stuff boarded, it goes a long way.  If I can't get salt water I will look in the trash and usually find lemon slices or something.  A couple drops of lemon juice and my LED stays lit for about 3 hours."  He handed Seto the small light and then picked up another, shaking it slightly.  "Just getting the contact wet.  You want me to come with you?"

 

"Don't you want to show me your work?"  Seto was baffled.  What artist didn't like to show off their work to a wealthy potential patron.

"Ah well, the last person who saw my stuff didn't like it much and I got... well it wasn't the best thing to happen in my life.  I'll go with you though, because you want me to."

 

"Gee thanks."  The brunet nodded to the first wall.  "Show me?"

 

"Yeah, just a sec."  Jou did something on the wall that sounded like a sliding clink.  "If they wake up we'll hear them now."

 

"Okay."  Seto frowned thoughtfully.  Who needed an intercom? More to the point, who needed a locked room that nobody could enter and could monitor the rooftop.  Something was way off.

 

That realization was driven from his mind when he saw the first series of images.  "Holy..."

 

"You recognize it?  I was eleven when I painted it and I didn't understand it for a couple years.  It's the holy war in heaven"

 

That was exactly what Seto would have called it too.  Gods, demons, and other creatures all grappling, fighting to reach a peak that looked down from above, completely unattainable to all of them, simply because their battle was destroying the only path.  "You... you painted this when you were eleven?"  He battled back his disbelief.  There was no way a child could wield a paintbrush with such mastery.

 

"Yeah. It's kind of rough, I got better though.  I only had school paint that they were throwing away so my colors aren't good.  I still use that sometimes, but sometimes I'll do odd jobs at the hobby store and they give me their opened stuff that they would throw away.  They even gave me some brushes.  I take good care of them."

 

"I'll bet you do."  Seto choked back more disbelief.  This work was done with throw away school paint?  That bordered on impossible.  "What do you use for canvas?"

 

"Canvas?  Ah I don't have the money for that.  This is just paper from school.  End of rolls they were tossing.  I just thumb tack them to the wall."

 

Seto nodded, his throat tight, because he did indeed see the thumb tacks holding up the papers.  Without a word he turned to look at the next picture.  "That... You saw that somewhere?"

 

"Just in my head.  Is it something you've seen?"  Jou frowned.  "I didn't copy on purpose."

 

"No, no it isn't like anything else, Katsuya it's an image of soldiers from World War One.  The uniforms are distinctive, as are the guns they are holding."  Seto explained as he moved down to the next image.  "Another war, American Civil, I believe.  Katsuya, are all of your paintings of mankind's past wars?"

 

"Hm... No."  Seto relaxed slightly at that only to tense again when the blond added, "Some are of wars from the future, and some aren't about mankind at all."  Katsuya frowned and stepped back slightly, wrapping his arms around himself protectively.  "I don't understand you right now.  You are very...upset?  Will you explain?  Your emotions are like the other person who saw my paintings and I....  I didn't understand her either and she refused to explain.  She just got rid of me."

 

Seto heard the fear in the blond's voice.  Katsuya believed that Seto would get rid of him too.  Controlling his shock and confusion he reached out and pulled the withdrawn blond into a loose hold.  "I'm shocked because you are so bright and happy, and it is not an act.  But inside you are all these dark images."

 

"Dark images?  I think they are beautiful."

 

"You think war is beautiful?"  That was just a little too much for Seto.  He recoiled slightly.

 

Jou accepted his rejection and stepped further away as if he suddenly recalled a reason to be afraid or ashamed.  As if he expected a violent reaction of some kind. "Yes."  He admitted in a shamed voice.  "I think some of the things man does in war are evil and ugly, but war itself is not.  It allows for growth, for integration, for the strongest to survive.  Without war and the demands of war, humans would be extinct, because without the weapons of war they would have been food for the predators.  War is beautiful because it furthers life and growth, like a fire that burns a forest feeds the seeds in the ground not sprouted yet.  War is man's natural forest fire."

 

That caught Seto on the raw.  He had never looked at war in quite that way.  If he did then he could see Katsuya's perspective on war.  "I... I will have to think about that."  Hesitantly he reached out and caught Jou's hand.  "Show me the rest of your fire, Katsuya."

 

"I can tell you aren't sure you want to see it.  I promise I'm getting better, but it's all wars."  The blond warned.

 

"I don't see much room for improvement, but I'll look.  And you are wrong, I definitely want to see your work."  Seto firmed his decision.  Jou needed to feel appreciated and it was Seto's responsibility to provide that.

 

"As long as you are okay with it."  Jou smiled and nodded to the next picture.  "I'm sure that is earth in the far past, but it looks like an island being blown apart.  I don't know of any weapons from before today that would do that.  Do you?"

 

"Atlantis maybe?  Or some forgotten people."  Seto studied the picture.  "They don't look quite human though.  They are disproportionately long limbed."

 

"Hmm Atlantis sounds right.  Never considered it.  Didn't notice the long arms and legs though.  I was thirteen when I painted it, and just starting to figure out the way length and width and stuff work.  Besides, I like long legs so I stuck that in the picture."

 

Seto bit back the observation that he had very nice, long legs and looked at the next picture.  If he had glanced at Katsuya, he would have seen the golden eyes dart over him, lingering appreciatively on his lower body.

 

For over two hours they wandered hand-in-hand through Katsuya's private gallery.  Seto hadn't thought that Jou's talent could improve much, but he had been wrong.  The original work had been almost masterpiece quality, something he wouldn't hesitate to hang as a patron, the final works, one that was still drying, could have been painted by a great master, and should have been hanging in a museum or famous gallery somewhere.  Katsuya's talent was beyond description.  Seto was very glad that he had not voiced his original disbelief because there had been no doubt that Katsuya was the artist.  His intimate knowledge of each piece, his description of the different ways he'd held the brush to get a certain effect, every little detail, supported Katsuya's claim.

 

He was surprised when Jou turned to him at the base of the ladder and clasped his hand in both of his.  "You believe they're mine now, don't you?"

 

"Ah..."  He started to deny he had doubted, but as he gazed into the candid gold eyes, Seto went with honesty.  "Yes, I do.  You are incredibly talented.  Will you let me supply you with canvas and paint?  I want to make you happy and I want to see the beauty of war through your eyes."

 

"Yeah, if you let me pay you.  I got no money but I can give you the pictures I paint."  Jou bargained, holding his breath.  He had always wanted to use stuff not from the school or trash.

 

"We will discuss payment when I see the work.  Somehow I think you are going to be overpaying for a hundred years of supplies with one painting."  Seto smiled and freed his hand and gestured up the ladder.  "There are still a few hours of starlight left, so you go paint.  I've still got to deal with my father."  Although his voice was calm and even, Jou gave him a small, commiserating smile before vaulting up the ladder, as if he knew that Seto hated dealing with Gozaburo.

 

A puzzled frown tugging at his brows, Seto followed.  Cautiously he settled himself into the hammock, finding it easier than before, and reached for his phone.  As much as he didn't want to do it, he had to call Gozaburo.  The man was head of the family after all.  He had a right to know Seto's plans.  Time didn't matter, Seto knew that Gozaburo would be awake, expecting his call.  Seto would have much rather been back in Jou's gallery viewing images of war than make the phone call.

 

Of course the bastard let the phone ring several times before answering.  The jerk couldn't be thoughtful of the other people who might be woken by the ringing of the phone, not the great Kaiba Gozaburo.  Seto bit back a disgusted snort when the older Upyri deigned to answer.  "You called me?"  Seto didn't bother with manners when it was just the two of them, with no possibility of witness and cause friction in the family.  He'd made his feelings plain for Gozaburo when he'd tossed the ass out the sixtieth story window of the ex-CEO's office.  Politeness to the elder wasn't high on Seto's list.

 

"I presume you found him, as your GPS has been in the same location for hours.  Although not at his apartment."

 

"I left to let him say goodbye in privacy and changed my mind.  My car started smoking so I left it and walked back."  Seto lied through gritted teeth.  He did not want to talk about the existence of Ilati-Inu with anyone until he had a chance to explore the archives.  As king he had to protect his people from possible threat.  "But you knew all that, from Mokuba.  What do you want?  Say it plainly or I'm hanging up."

 

A chill of satisfaction went through him when he heard the older Upyri curse under his breath before snapping, "What the hell are you up to Seto?  Your brother was on the phone for three hours arranging what sounds like a major renovation and expending huge sums of money."

 

"What I do with my money is not your business.  What my brother does with my money is not your business.  Know your place.  Or do I have to toss you down where you belong - again?"  Seto didn't often remind his stepfather of the little flight Seto had sent him on, but when he did, his stepfather knew to back the hell off.  Kaiba Seto did not make threats, he made promises.

 

"Bastard."  The older man hissed.

 

"That is 'Your Majesty, King Bastard' to you.  Mokuba and I will be leaving the royal house tom - today.  Have the servants pack our bags.  Oh and I'll be sending a moving company to pick up our furniture - they will have the same list they had when delivering it.."  It gave Seto no end of satisfaction to inform his stepfather of the next little fact.  "We are leaving your family aegis.  It is time for our house to rise again.  When it is time for me to take the throne we will return."  Malice and satisfaction oozed all over his tone.  "Thank you for fulfilling our father's last wish.  Consider your duty done."  Practically purring at the enraged sputters, Seto disconnected the call.

 

As he carefully laid out his palette, Katsuya was aware of Seto talking on his cell phone.  Briefly he wondered what it would be like to have such a fancy thing, something that would let him talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime, as long as they had a phone too.  But he knew better than to dwell on stuff like that.  What was the point?  He was poor and not smart enough to ever make enough money to buy something so nice.  Maybe Seto would let him use it to call his sister?  Wouldn't hurt to ask.  He knew that the brunet didn't hate him, at least not anymore.  When Seto had wrapped his hands around Jou's throat, Jou was sure most people would have thought the brunet was going to kill them, but Jou knew the truth, there had been no death in Seto's touch, instead there had been warmth, caring, tenderness, and something else, something that Jou didn't recognize, but he knew it would never hurt him, knew that when Seto's touch felt like that, there was no danger.

 

The one time before, when Seto had crunched his fist, Jou knew the brunet had been angry, frustrated and there had been a completely new feeling, like when he didn't eat for a day or two, kind of empty and hollow.  Now that Jou knew that Seto was not like everyone else, that feeling made sense.  Probably when Seto got mad he burned up more energy and got hungry.  When Jou had tried to hit him, Seto had wanted fuel.  That was the strange hungry feeling he had gotten from Seto that had confused him so much.

 

The feeling was still there, but it had changed, mixing with the 'other' weird feeling Jou didn't know, so Jou felt safe in thinking that Seto didn't see him as lunch, and in fact liked him a little bit.  It made him very happy to have someone who wasn't afraid to talk to him or touch him.  A friend, a real friend.

 

Jou knew that would change when the genius figured him out, or when one of his family told Kaiba about the 'nasty' surprise.  Until then he would enjoy the unexpected touches and closeness.  Instead of emptying his consciousness and letting the image flow from deep inside and out onto the paper, Jou concentrated on Seto, on how kind he was, and on the strange tenderness and hunger that were a part of the Upyri.  Maybe if he were to paint what he felt for Seto, he would understand more and think of a way to make Seto not hate him when the nasty secret was told.

 

He was only vaguely aware of when Seto left the hammock and came to stand behind him, watching him paint over his shoulder.  When the brunet whispered "Do you mind?  I've already prepared the berries and have nothing else to do."

Jou didn't bother to answer verbally, just shifted his stance slightly so the other teen could get a better view of the picture.  

 

Jou painted until the rising sun tinged the sky golden-pink,  then with a sigh laid down his brush.  "You gotta be bored."

 

"I've never seen a masterpiece being created before.  I was far from bored.  This one isn't like your others, unless you are planning to add a sea battle?"

 

"Nah, it's done.  The paper is almost too wet now.  You really don't see it?  The war I mean."  Jou gave him a very curious look.

 

"I only see the sun and moon over an angry sea.  What were you painting?  I'm sorry Katsuya, maybe it's the light, but I can't even tell if it's painted for day or night."

 

"It's neither.  There is a time, once a night and once a morning, where everything is suspended between night and day.  I don't know what to call it, but everything is blue as it deepens or lightens.  The sun and the moon share the sky, just for that small few minutes.  When they share the sky, they war for the oceans and the tides.  It isn't a man-made war that I painted Seto, but the war between night and day, an eternal and ongoing war."  He took a couple careful steps back from the painting.  "I wanted to paint something that reminded me of you and me."

 

Seto's breath caught slightly as pain darted in his chest.  "I... I don't know if I want to be thought of as the moon.  As beautiful as you've painted it, you've made it look cold and alone.  The sun, even though it is warming the sky is so distant."

 

Jou lowered his head slightly, his hair falling into his eyes, obscuring his expression in the dawning morning light.  "You're not the moon."

 

The pain deepened in Seto's chest.  Jou saw himself as cold and alone.  "Katsuya..."  Seto reached out and brushed the concealing bangs back.  "You're not cold, and as long as you want me here, you won't be alone.  I promise."

 

The golden eyes lifted to study him with deep calm.  "I won't hold you to that.  Obasan moved a second ago.  I'm going to change and wash up, they hate when I'm dirty from painting.   Could you please watch the others?"  

 

When Jou stepped back, Seto caught his arm and pulled him into the cradle of his body.  "They can wait.  You need a hug right now more than they need to live."  Seto made his voice playfully scolding.  "I told you to tell me when you were hurting like this."

 

The blond went rigid in his arms.  "How did you know?  Nobody knows..."

 

"Jou, it doesn't take a genius.  The pain in that picture makes my chest ache.  I can't imagine the pain running through you to be able to put just a small part of it in that painting."  Seto lowered his head and nuzzled into Jou's neck.  "Now hug me back so I know you're okay."

 

"The paint..."  It was a weak protest, one that Seto dismissed with a disgusted snort.  It must have been exactly what Jou was waiting for because Seto found himself wrapped in a hug that pressed their chests so tightly together, it felt as if their hearts were beating as one.

 

Some might have found the embrace painful or uncomfortable, but to Seto, it was a perfect echo of the painful loneliness in the painting. With just the thought of comforting the blond he pursed his lips against the golden skin of Jou's neck in a chaste, soothing kiss.  Jou's heart thudded hard and the blond wrenched out of Seto's arms and was gone in a flash.

 

"Hnnn... that was..."  Seto's blue eyes narrowed slightly.  "Unexpected."

 

A low, quavering voice answered him.  "Kaiba, King of the Upyri, you are not as smart as you are reputed to be."

 

He turned and faced the elderly woman.  "Ito-san.  You are the first to awaken.”  He knelt by the sprawled form, assessing her.  She looked different, almost like she was melting from within.  "Please eat one or two of these berries."

 

"The berries.  I see.  If I refuse what happens?"  The old woman glared at him with pure challenge.

 

"Then I bite you."  He smiled and showed the tips of his lowered fangs.  "I won't let you kill yourself and hurt him."  He plucked two berries and held them to her lips, pressing firmly.  Reluctantly she took the first berry and chewed, and swallowed with difficulty.  He pressed the second berry into her mouth and forced it deeper into her throat. She had the choice of swallow or choke.  She swallowed.

 

When her mouth and airway were clear she rasped, "You're a fool.  You should have let us do what we had to.  You're going to hate him and you will kill him yourself.  You won't have a choice.  You can't be a king with him around."  Bitterness curved her red-stained lips.  "How can a king never have a secret."  With that her eyes closed and her breath stopped.  Seto could care less.  The bitch was a malevolent spider.  He could never hate Katsuya.

 

Jou's father was next to move, just a flutter of dark blond lashes, but Seto didn't give the man an opportunity to fully wake, just mashed two berries into the man's mouth, pushing them deep and forcing the elder Jounouchi to swallow instinctively to avoid choking.  His breath stilled too, and the strange melting look softened and blurred the coarse features.  Shuddering, Seto turned away.  There was something gross about melting people that his stomach just couldn't handle.

 

Katsuya returned to see Seto kneeling away from the sprawled forms on the grass.  He would have asked what had the normally composed Upyri green, but a quick glance at Obasan and his father told him.  They looked... there was no word in Jou's vocabulary to describe it.  It was as if they were snakes inside wet skins that were rotting away.  "What did you do?"

 

"Gave them the berries."  Seto jerked at the sound of his voice and scooted further away from the bodies on the grass.  "They woke and I fed them the berries.  I... I don't know who that woman was but I think she lied to us Katsuya.  I think... I think they're dead."

 

Jou frowned and suppressed his revulsion.  With a hand that trembled with fear, Jou touched his father's hand, completely unaware that Seto had turned to watch him with eyes that widened slightly, then narrowed when Jou shook his head.  "Not dead.  He's still here, just, uhm... pain.  A lot of pain.  It's like there's a fire burning him on the inside."

 

Intently, Seto continued to watch Jou, paying the sprawled bodies no attention at all.  "Ito-san is worse.  She's almost completely disappeared in the ... whatever it is."  Keen blue eyes watched the shaking hand move to the old woman and a shaky fingertip touch  the gelatinous looking arm.

 

"She's still alive, hurting worse than dad, but still there.  I don't know what's going on but we gotta trust what that lady said."  Jou absently wiped the goo from his finger on the grass.  "Not like we have any choice because I don't think I can bite them and I don't want you to."

 

Seto tilted his head and regarded him thoughtfully.  "I wouldn't.  I think they should rot in hell.  If they're in pain I'm glad.  No matter how bad it is, it isn't enough."

 

Jou squinted at him.  "Huh?  What did they do that has you pissed?  I can feel it all the way over here."

 

"I'm not surprised."  Seto mumbled obscurely.

 

That made Jou blink and catch his breath.  "So, uhm... earlier, you... uhm... touched my neck with your... your mouth.  I am sorry I freaked about it.  Are you hungry?  Do you want to drink my blood?"

 

"Well that explains it.  What did you feel when I kissed your neck Katsuya?  What scared you?"  Blue eyes caught and held the golden gaze.  "Tell me.  You know I'm not mad at you but them, so it'll be okay."

 

"If I knew why you were mad at them maybe I wouldn't be worried.  Ever think of that, genius?"  Jou snapped, feeling trapped.

 

"Fair enough.  They hurt you because of what they said would be a nasty surprise for me.  They hurt you knowing you would feel it most.  Sadistic fuckers who deliberately hurt you can die."

 

All the color drained from Jou's golden face.  "You.. You know?"

 

"Of course.  You don't hide it well at all, probably because you were never taught to control and block.  Katsuya, an empath needs touch the way a flower needs the sun.  There are none known alive at this time, but my cousin Atemu had a mate who died during transformation that was an empath.  They lived together for years as partners, but Yugi was Malka.  He wasn't transformed because he was so delicate physically that it was almost certain he would die.  In the end there was no choice because Yugi was attacked and beaten almost to death.  Atemu attempted the transformation and they both died.  I remember Yugi always knew when people were upset or happy.  He would always hug us and if he walked into a room, my cousin, Atemu, my elder cousin and my true king, would rise and go to him. No matter what was happening, it would stop until Atemu saw to his partner's needs."

 

"Empath?  I... What is that?"  Jou frowned as he tasted the unfamiliar word.

 

"It's-"

 

"It's a cursed, evil being."  Suzuki-san's rough voice broke in.  "It's a descendant of priestesses who were untrue to Ishtar and when they received the Utu-Ina-Bau it mutated their minds and souls, making them demons.  It is a delusion of the mind, they think what they see is truth, and they have the ability to convince others of their lies.  They gain power through fear and manipulation."

 

"But... I don't do that."  Jou's eyes sought Seto's.  "Do I?"

 

"No Katsuya.  I don't know what he's raving about, but it's..."

 

"Truth.  Do not speak of things you don't know.  He was a simple child, no sign of guile or manipulation, the healers said his brain was damaged in his difficult birth.  He was kept well under control of course, until we were banished here.  Since then he has kept to himself and his rooftop."  A harsh cough shook the man.  "We knew as soon as you followed him here like a beast in rut, that he truly was cursed."

 

Jou was hunched in on himself, each word making him flinch and curl tighter.  Seto scooped up two berries and shoved them into the foul, ignorant mouth.  "Shut up.  You're a miserable ignorant liar.  Be grateful to the ‘cursed creature's’ caring heart or you would be dead."  Seto, seeing the fluttering eye movements of the other three 'family' members, picked up the bowl of berries and stuffed their mouths full, completely uncaring if they were conscious enough to swallow and clear their airway or if they choked to death.

 

He threw the empty bowl aside and pulled the huddled, cringing blond into his arms.  "You are not evil, cursed, or anything like that.  You are far from simple.  You can feel what I feel - you know I'm telling the truth."

 

Frantically Jou shook his head and a sob burst out.  "You're wrong, you... they loved me... they gave up everything for me, and I am cursed, evil.  I gave them my blood knowing what it would do.  I am evil."

 

Seto had reached the limit of his warm and fuzzies.  With a snarl he yanked Jou's head up and back by the hair.  "Do I seem stupid to you?  Do you think I'd care about an evil creature?  Do you think I'm evil?"

 

Jou gaped at him, stunned speechless by the return of the asshole.  "Guh..."

 

"Just shut the hell up if you are going to repeat their stupidity.  The reason I stayed away was because you were so good.  You think I'd mistake your goodness?  You are not an idiot, so don't act like one.  You know yourself, you just let them into your head.  Push them out."

 

Mutely, Jou nodded, but before he could say anything the sound of vehicles driving on the street below brought his head around.  "What the heck?  Those sound like trucks or something.  Trucks never come down here"

 

Seto glanced at his watch.  "They are a few minutes early.  My little brother brought the restoration and renovation crew."

 

"What?"  Then, "Your brother?"

 

"Yeah, I was going to renovate the top three stories of my new building for a private penthouse for us, but now I'll have to have them start to work on the third and fourth until your art can be moved.  I'll also have to talk to the architect about setting up a gallery and studio for you.  We may have to add a story up here, but I'll make sure your garden stays."

 

"Your building?  You bought my home?"

 

"It was in foreclosure, so I picked it up very inexpensively.  You can give me our painting if you want the deed."  Seto shrugged.  "I'll go talk to everyone and be back.  My brother will probably be with me.  You met him yesterday.  The kid with the fangs?"

 

"Yeah, what's with that?  You don't have fangs all the time."

 

"Baby teeth.  He hasn't lost his yet.  The smaller fangs that I have descend at about age fifteen."  Seto gave him a small squeeze.  "Just remember what I said.  You are not evil or a demon.  I would know - I'm a genius.  None of them -" He nodded to the oozing, peeling bodies on the grass.  "know jack shit."  Jou's glance was just in time to see the puss-goo, puffs of smoke rising in the bright blue morning sky, dissolve their clothes. "None have more than half a brain between any three of them."

 

Jou nodded and tilted his head up to smile slightly.  "You know, earlier you asked why I ran when you touched - kissed - my neck.  It's because you have this feeling I don't understand.  It reminds me of when I didn't have food for a couple days, like when I was really hungry and Obasan made curry but wouldn't let me have any because I had gotten paint on my shirt. You feel like you want to eat me."

 

Seto closed his eyes and sighed.  "Katsuya, how old are you?"  A thought that had been building was firming.  He hoped to Inanna he was wrong because it would complicate things, but the evidence was growing.

 

A cautious look crossed the blond's face.  "My dad says I'm eighteen.  Why?  Do you get hungrier when you get older?"

 

"Katsuya, you talk about sex casually but what do you know about it?"  Direct, to the point.  How else could he address it after all?  Katsuya wasn't one to pick up subtle hints.

 

"Well, it's not real important to me, but dad and the others go on and on about it."  He frowned.  "Still don't know why he has to change the sheets all the time.  I don't like doing laundry and his sheets are always gross."  A disgruntled look crossed his face.  "They smell bad too.  If that is about sex then I don't want it.  Nothing is worth more laundry."

 

Voice thin, Seto asked, "What you said before, about my skin and cream?"

 

A dark flush burned Jou's face from forehead to chin.  "It was a picture I had in my head for an instant when you crunched my hand.  I didn't know what it meant and it confused me , but it was kinda pretty and stuck with me.  I don't know why I said it when I did, except I guess I wanted to see if it meant something to you."

 

"God Katsuya, you... You really don't know?"  Seto hesitated, "Your legs, your underarms, your chest are baby smooth.  Tell me you have pubic hair, please tell me you shave and  have pubic hair."

 

The red face darkened even further.  "Yah looked at my legs when I changed?  Ah, uhm, dark and curly hair by my dick?  I have three.  They itch."  He frowned slightly.  "I'd shave 'em but I don't have a razor and I don't want no knife down there."

 

"Katsuya open your mouth.  Hurry."  Seto gave a glance over his shoulder as his brother's voice called his name.

 

Jou opened his mouth and Seto pressed his index finger in, pressing behind his teeth, along the roof of his mouth.  "Oh shit."  He mumbled when Jou winced then instinctively pressed into the pressure.  "There is no way you are eighteen.  You're probably not fourteen.  We need to have a serious talk about this.  Just know that I am not angry at you and I do not want you for lunch okay?  No matter how hungry you think I am, you are not a meal."

 

"Ah, yeah okay.  Yer bro is sounding worried.  You better hurry."  Jou stepped away and turned to look at the unrecognizable lumps of ooze.  "Gross."  He wrinkled his nose and went to sit on the hammock.

 

"I'll be back as soon as possible." Seto promised and with blurring speed, raced down to his brother.

 

As soon as possible turned out to be over four hours, while Jou sat and watched his family bubble, ooze, pop, and peel like giant blisters.  After he got used to the gross look and sounds it was sort of interesting to watch.  Kind of like when he got scabs on his knees and would pick them just to watch them scab up again.  It was gross in a cool kind of way.

 

The neat gross factor had waned, and his family looked kind of like people in thin skin capsules.  They weren't transparent, but Jou could see enough to know everyone was still intact inside.  He had touched his dad with the tip of his finger and found that he was not in pain any more but sleeping like he'd just come off a three day drunk.  A quick check showed they all were deeply asleep.

 

Seto's voice startled Jou so bad he almost fell out of the hammock.  "Katsuya!  Mokuba and I are coming out now."

 

Disgruntled by the long wait and being startled so badly made Jou snap.  "'Bout time."

 

"The architect and engineer wanted to access the top floor.  I had to tell them to go take a long break while we moved your paintings.  Katsuya, we'll have to pack them up and move them.  Do you mind?"

 

"Nah, I don't care.  I put them up to dry.  Until we looked at 'em I haven't seen a lot of them in a long time.  Uh, you gonna bring guys up to help or is it just us."  Jou turned to study the black haired boy standing next to Seto, staring at the weird pods on the grass with wide blue-grey eyes.  "Yer Mokuba, right?  I'm Jounouchi Katsuya.  Nice to meet you."

 

"Um, yeah.  Seto do you see..."

 

"I do."  Seto said evenly.  "Mokuba mind your manners and speak to Jounouchi."

 

"But Seto, they look exactly like Enkidu during transformation.  Everyone said it was some kind of holy light but this is just like that."

 

"I know Mokuba.  Katsuya, forgive my brother his manners.  Our ancient texts show drawings of Enkidu's transformation - the first transformation to Upyri - depict the kind of encasement your family have developed.  Until just now, we thought it was a visual euphemism for god power or something."  Seto turned his head away, looking at the bunny pen.  "They remind me of insect larvae inside cocoons, or dead maggots."

 

Mokuba crossed to kneel by the 'larvae.'  "Seto doesn't like bugs."

 

Jou nodded and knelt beside the younger Kaiba.  "They were worse earlier.  At least they stopped dripping stinky pus. I think they're going to wake up soon.  They're not as deep asleep as they were." Jou poked his dad's cocoon.  "He can hear us and is really pissed.  Mokuba you need to get away from him.  When he wakes up he'll wake up swinging."  Jou walked along the row of his encased family trailing the barest fingertip over them.  "They are all killing mad and really close to being able to wake fully. Seto they will hurt us bad if we're here when they get up.  We need to get to the safe room.  I've seen 'em mad before.  Believe me we gotta get to the safe room."

 

Mokuba stood up and backed away, but only as far as his brother.  "Seto?  Are we in danger?"

 

Seto dropped a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder but kept his gaze on the blond.  "Katsuya come here."  Jou crossed to stand next to Mokuba, sandwiching the smaller boy between them.  Seto nodded slightly.  It was what he had expected.  "Remember I told you that our blood can make them thralls, slaves?  All Upyri are slaves to the line of Enkidu and Gilgamesh - my line.  They are now Upyri.  If they attack I will kill them where they stand."  He raised his voice slightly.  "Did you hear me?  If you attack us you will die as I believe you would have but for Katsuya's caring for you.  You will live only as long as my family, that includes Katsuya, is safe around you."

 

There was no response, but Seto knew absolutely they wouldn’t take the warning to heart.  These people were like Katsuya in some part, so they were stubborn, and like Katsuya said, filled with hate.  A lesson was in order.  Seto slid off his shirt and handed it to Mokuba.  Dark blue-green lines scored Seto's skin in an endless pattern of perfect interlocking squares and rectangles, from his forehead and disappearing below his trousers.  With careful precision he traced a small square on his chest.  The square glimmered blue white for an instant and the six cocoons suddenly burst open, the people inside screaming as they flew out of their sleeping nests.  They stayed on their feet for just a few seconds before crumpling to the ground in crying balls of pain.  "Remember the pain and realize it is one millionth of what I can do to you if you threaten or attempt to harm any of my people."  He traced the same square in reverse, and calmly retrieved his shirt, sliding it back on.

 

Seto didn't care about the reaction of Jou's family,Mokuba was completely aware of their power as descendents of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but Jou was a different story.  Jou's reaction to this was as important to Seto as any other thing that had happened.   Jou had to accept that power.  Proudly, defiantly, he met Jou's gaze.  This was what he was.  He would not hide it.  He should have known he wouldn't get a normal response from the blond.  Jou was gaping at him with wide, awestruck eyes.  "You look like a goldfish.  Shut your mouth."

 

"Man..."  Jou breathed.  "Can I do that?  Please?  There are a couple people I wouldn't mind dropping like that."

 

"Someday soon you will be able to.  Have a few things to work out."  Seto smiled slightly as a knot unravelled in his chest.  Jou wasn't angry, disgusted, or afraid.  Things with his and Katsuya's developing relationship were definitely going very well.

 

"Bastards!"  A shrill female voice yelled.  "What have you done to us."

 

"Ah, Obasan?"  Jou asked hesitantly.  "Is that you?"

 

"Of course it's me you simple-minded fool.  Who else would it be?  What have you done to us?"  She snarled angrily.

 

"Well, uhm, I don't know really, because it was weird.  I did give you berries with my blood on it, and since Seto made me Upyri yesterday, it kinda made you that too.  Then Seto gave you guys more berries with this stuff from some lady and you guys kinda, melted and then had cocoons like maggots... "  At her shriek he hastily backtracked "I mean like butterflies.  Right Seto?  Mokuba?  They were like butterfly cocoons?"

 

"Maggots works for me."  Seto demurred heartlessly.

 

"Ah well..."  Jou gave Seto a chiding look.  "Then Seto woke you guys up somehow and.. well now you are... but you're not you anymore?  I mean, I saw when you guys stood up and you're kinda the same but... but obasan you have black hair and your boobs aren't at your belly button any more.  You never looked like that.  And my dad is... he looks a lot like me now.  All of you look a really different.  So... yeah.  Are you guys you?"

 

Seto chuckled and shook his head.  "Katsuya take a deep breath.  I'll explain.  They were in a cocoon created by their  transformation to Upyri.  Upyri do not age beyond their physical peak and our lines keep us there.  Your bodies, every part of them, have been restored to their physical peak.  They will remain that way until they are killed or die a natural death."

 

"Lines!  We are Ilati-Inu!  We don't have lines beyond those shared with our mates and they are only for mating!  Only the Upyri have lines of stolen power.  They are the mark of the betrayal of Ishtar and Tiamat."  Suzuki-san rasped.

 

"Katsuya had his own lines from the start.  His blood may have transformed you, but your lines are your own.  He did not give any to you."  When Katsuya's father would have opened his mouth, Seto stroked a tiny line on his palm and abruptly the older blond shut his mouth.  "You are all now Upyri, I expect you to live by our laws.  You will be educated in our ways."  A tiny, ironic smile curved his lips.  "You will understand how Katsuya felt being treated as simple.  Don't worry, like Katsuya, you will catch on eventually or die.  He survived so you have a chance right?"  Seto gestured regally.  "Your nudity is understandable but go dress now.  I'm not interested in a concubine at this time."

 

"Concubine!"  Ito-san snorted.  "All of us are mated.  Even if we weren't we wouldn't lower ourselves to lay with you."  She snarled.

 

"Going to be hard on you guys.  According to Katsuya's father, you mate for life.  Wonder what your mates are going to think of the 'new you.'"  Seto smiled malevolently.  "Guess you will find out."  He waved his hands to the door. "Go dress.  Really you are turning my stomach.  You'll want to shower too of course.  You have slime all over you."  When they defied him, not budging an inch, Seto nodded slightly.  "I am King of Upyri, you will follow my orders - or you will die."

 

"And if we choose to die?"  Suzuki-san challenged.

 

"Do you?"  Seto asked curiously.  "Do you really want to die?  Think before you answer because I can end you with a thought."

 

Ito-san, slimy and naked, stalked off first.  One by one they stormed off the roof.  Jou gazed after them thoughtfully.  "Guess they didn't want to die."  He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.  "Seto I need ta talk to you."  He frowned slightly.  "Mokuba could you check out the rabbits?  I uhm..."

 

"Got it."  Mokuba nodded and moved away.  "Just say you want private time.  I get that newlyweds need to be private."

 

"Newly..."  Jou shook his head.  "You are a weird kid."  When the black-haired boy was out of earshot Jou looked at Seto candidly.  "I'm hungry.  I got a real craving for koshian."

 

"Red bean paste?  Sweet red beans?"  Seto actually clutched his stomach at the thought.  "Do you know how sick you will get if you eat even just a bite?"

 

Jou was silent for a minute, then shook his head slightly.  "Seto, I'm not exactly like you am I?  I mean you made me Upyri, but I'm not quite like any other Upyri.  You've only said things a couple things to make me think so, but I kinda get that I'm different."  He hesitated, then, "I don't think my body is gonna want something that will hurt me or be bad for me.  I kinda figured out a while ago that when I crave something it means I need it to be healthy, like daikon in winter or sunlight when I'm cold.  Even my painting, and the hugs and stuff.  When I crave something, I need it, I know 'cause when I don't get it I feel sick for a while."

 

Seto could tell by the conviction in Jou's eyes that nothing would change that belief until the blond had graphic proof.  "Alright.  We will go for brunch.  I know a place that has rare meats we can eat, and they have traditional red sweet beans as well."  He glanced over to call Mokuba only to find the boy only a few feet away.

 

"What?  I heard what he said.  I'm hungry too."  The irrepressible imp grinned.  "Mako's?"

 

"Mako's."  Seto agreed.  He frowned down at Jou.  "We have been in the same clothes for two days.  Mokuba brought me a bag and put it in your apartment.  We will have to change." The brunet sniffed slightly.  "A shower wouldn't be a bad idea either.  You smell like... maggot slime.  Your father is in the shower though so perhaps just wash and... Where are you going?"

 

"Hang on, I got a shower head that fits on my waterer.  I even got some soap up here.  Sometimes there was company and I'd have to hang out up here."  Jou dragged out a stainless steel hose with a large flat end.  "It's big enough for both of us if we get close.  Mokuba can watch the door and let us know if any of them come back."  With ease he began to fit the pipes to the collection unit.

 

"What about the buildings around us?  Don't people see?"  Seto glanced around at the other buildings.  It should have occurred to him sooner.  Some of them were a few stories higher, and yes some of the windows could look down on Jou's private garden.

 

The blond was completely unconcerned.  "Nobody ever complained.  Besides most of them are empty.  Sometimes the homeless will camp there.  Last summer one guy kept asking to use my shower but I told him no.  There is only enough water to share if you're quick and he kept saying he wanted to take a long time with me."

 

"I'll bet."  Seto gritted.  "Where is this guy now?"

 

"He is a summer guy.  Comes to town in the summer leaves in the fall.  He said he'd see me this summer."  Jou shrugged.  "He's going to be upset.  I couldn't find a way to make the shower bigger so he could take his time."

 

Seto growled slightly.  "He's going to be a lot more upset if he ever contacts you again.  Katsuya, he was using the shower as a way to have sex with you."

 

Jou scrunched his nose.  "Everything seems to be sex.  I just don't get it.  Are you using the shower to have sex with me?"

 

The king of all Upyri had the urge to slam his head into something very hard, repeatedly.  "Not right now."  He clenched his jaw, as Mokuba started snickering behind him.  "Katsuya do you have any kind of shower curtain?  I am not used to showering in a fishbowl."

 

Jou gave a small shrug.  "Gimme a minute and I'll rig something.  Don't see why you're worried though.  You know you look good.  I bet anyone who sees will be happy you shared."

 

Seto actually blushed and sputtered incoherently and Mokuba's snickers turned to full blown laughter that echoed around the rooftops.  Jou shook his head at their weirdness and went to get the wall sized easel he had just completed.  It should hold some of the plastic tarp he'd salvaged.  That would have to do for a shower curtain.  It was translucent so Seto wouldn't be clear, but not hidden either.  Jou hoped it would be enough.  That with the irrigation tub and system to block the other side was all he could come up with.

 

It took him a few trips and a few minutes, time where Seto and Mokuba went to grab Seto's bag and surprisingly, Jou's clothes.  "Huh... Thanks.  Uhm, did they say anything to you?"

 

"The slime must not be water based because they were all still in the shower, cussing."  Mokuba informed him, sounding absurdly pleased.

 

"Ah well, since it gets thin in the sun, it makes sense it gets thicker in the cold."  Jou crammed his hands into his pockets and looked away from them.  "No hot water this month.  I couldn't pay for the boiler fuel and the water for the plants.  Didn't get a lot of rain last month and dad got drunk and dumped two of the tubs."

 

"I'll make sure you have enough water for everything Katsuya."  Seto promised.

 

"Kinda thought you would, because you're renovating.  That means lots of hoses and stuff for the building.  A lot of water gets used and a lot goes to waste.  Maybe even tap some electric that isn't made from the panels I hooked up on the side of the roof.  They don't make a lot, just enough for lights and sometimes cooking, but they work."

 

"Panels?"  Seto frowned slightly as he noticed thin wires leading from the far side of the building.  "Solar panels?  Where did you get them?"

 

"Some fancy buildings were wrecked in the big wave that went through a while ago.  They ended up in the mud down by the dock.  I pulled 'em out and cleaned 'em up.  Looked 'em up on on the internet at the library and found some diagrams that showed exploded pictures of how they worked.  Didn't seem hard to get them going again, so I just did what I had to.  Like I said they don't do anything but lights, or if we turn them off the stove does good, and only enough for downstairs, so nothing upstairs but it's all good."

 

Seto was almost beyond surprise at Jou's adaptability.  Mokuba didn't have Seto's experience and burst out "Seto!  You lied to me!"  The younger Kaiba turned to Jou and snapped.  "He told me months ago that he liked you but you were too simple and shining to ever be happy with us.  You are not simple.  He was just being a jerk, keeping you to himself.  You're way cool and smart."  Mokuba glared at his brother.  "He was being greedy, wanting you all to himself."

 

Jou stared between them with a dumbfounded expression.  Seto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation.  "Katsuya and I didn't know each other that well, and I made a mistake in judgement based on what I knew from school.  I have since learned he is far from simple.  He is talented and probably as intelligent as I am.  He's just never been tested on a scale that could be used accurately.  I was not being greedy!"

 

"Yeah right.  Like I believe that.  You were around him every day for months and you missed it?  You would have to be simple.  I've been with him five minutes and can see how awesome he is.  Admit it big brother, you were being greedy."  Mokuba raged.

 

"I..."

 

"Let's shower.  You can deny your greed and defend telling him I'm stupid later 'kay Seto?"  Jou butted in.

 

Seto shut his mouth with an audible click.  "Fine I..."  He broke off on a choked gasp when Jou, with absolutely no modesty, stripped off his shirt and dropped his pants in a single fluid motion, baring his entire golden skinned body to the sun.  He had a second to be grateful that his eyes were not as sensitive as he had always believed because it didn't hurt at all to watch Katsuya run around naked in the sun.  Without a thought for the surrounding windows, Seto stripped just as quickly and followed the golden body as it disappeared behind the billowing sheet of plastic.  

 

Mokuba rolled his eyes and turned to scan the buildings for any watchers.  Seto had been quite clear in his instructions, note any watchers and point them out to Seto so that the king could deal with those daring to poach on his private reserve.  He resolutely ignored the splashing, talking, and occasional laughter - including his brother's own rare deep chuckles - that came from behind him.  They weren't the sounds Mokuba would have expected from them, but they were just as welcome.  Happiness for Seto, in whatever form, was always welcome.

 

Seto gave Jou a surprised look when the blond motioned him closer.  "C'mere, Seto."

 

"Ah okay."  Seto mentally cursed his body when his heart skipped a couple beats.  He was almost positive that Jou wasn't inviting an embrace, but that didn't keep him from wishing.

 

As soon as he got within a few inches of Katsuya the golden blond reached up and over his shoulder, brushing his skin with tanned fingertips.  "Seto boost me a little.  The frame of the curtain lifted the shower lever.  It's just out of my reach."  Jou levered closer, standing on tiptoe.  "It's kind of hard to turn."

 

Seto wanted to curse aloud as he hoisted the blond an inch or so.  Jou seemed completely oblivious to the way their chests and bellies were touching.  In a very few seconds that situation would change because Seto's body was reacting with predictable fervor at having the naked teen practically on top of him.  Even as Jou slid down, Seto's body was rising to meet him.  Knowing of no other way to handle the situation, Seto opened his mouth to warn Jou, only to yelp and bite off a howl of shock.  Cool water drenched him from above.  In an instant his rising erection flagged and his balls tried to crawl higher into his body.

 

"Feels great doesn't it?"  Jou smiled blissfully as he stepped back.  "I love hot showers."

 

"Hot?"  Seto shook his head in disbelief.  "This is not hot."

 

"Hotter than the cold downstairs, trust me.  This is still warm from yesterday.  Probably about twenty two degrees."

 

"Fahrenheit maybe."  Seto groused.

 

"Funny, it's not close to freezing.  'Bout seventy two fahrenheit."  Jou tilted his head slightly.  "Are you really cold or are you sensitive because you were overheated a minute ago?"

 

"Overheated?"  Is that how Jou saw it?  Was that a step up from hungry or a step down?

 

"Yes.  Kind of like my dad gets when he has a visitor.  All hot inside, but I can't really feel any emotion, just kinda, hot."

 

"That's probably it.  I was probably embarrassed by getting undressed where other people can see me."

 

"Makes sense.  My face feels hot sometimes when I'm embarrassed.  So if you're embarrassed in a big way I guess you'd feel hot in a big way."  Jou nodded.  "So... You going to apologize for telling your brother I'm stupid?"

 

"I don't know."  Seto pretended to think about it.

 

"If you don't I won't let you borrow my soap, and if you want to you have to earn it by washing my back."  Jou grinned and held up a small green sliver of something.  "It smells great and makes a lot of bubbles.  I make it out of green tea and regular soap that is left over in my shower."

 

"Hmmm I'm not going to apologize, and I want to see you make me wash your back."  Seto assumed his most austere expression.

 

Jou flinched slightly and handed him the soap.  "Sorry."  Disconsolately he turned away.

 

Seto blinked and stared for a moment, his heart sinking.  He'd frightened Katsuya?  He knew his fierce expression scared a lot of people but he hadn't thought Jou was one.  Hesitantly he reached out to touch the blond's shoulder, automatically rubbing the soap onto the smooth skin.  "Katsuya are you okay?"  When he didn't answer, Seto began to smooth the rapidly lathering soap across Jou's back.  "Katsuya?"

 

Wicked golden eyes peeped at him over a well lathered shoulder.  "Thanks for washing my back for me Seto.  You can use the soap now.  I got another bar to wash my front."

 

Seto gazed at him for a full ten seconds before he pounced.  "Katsuya, you!  I am so going to get you for that."

 

Jou laughed up at him from the circle of his arms, "Nyah, nyah.  I can read you like a book.  You gotta laugh more.  I'm gonna make you laugh so much you forget I'm a responsibility."  Knowing fingers danced across Seto's ribs.  "Starting with this.  You're ticklish.  I saw how you flinched when I touched you earlier.  It didn't hurt so you're ticklish.  Big, bad CEO, King of Upyri, and a ticklish guy."  

 

Seto's shoulders shook as he fought back the laughter the blond's clever fingers threatened to unleash.  "Brat."  He broke away only to turn and raise his fingers slightly.  "You're ticklish too."   And with that the chase around the shower stall was on... it wasn't a true chase because they easily were in arms reach of each other, but it was a time to play, something neither of them had done in a very long time.

 

Much too soon for Seto's taste their play time had to end.  Mokuba coughed slightly.  "Big brother, the architect and engineer, along with the site supervisor are coming up the stairs.  They are on the second floor.  You might want to get dressed - in a hurry."

 

The water shut off instantly and there was a flurry of blurred movements behind the tarp.  By the time the three men walked through the roof door Seto was smoothing his damp hair into place and Jou was tying his shoelaces and there was no sign of the shower or curtain.  The water was glistening on the empty lawn.  Mokuba had been busy too, it seemed.

 

The three men stepped onto the roof gingerly as if expecting it to collapse under them.  Their tentative steps changed as the looked around with varying degrees of shock.  The man he recognized as the architect managed to ask, "Kaiba, what is all this?"

 

"All this is why the top floor is off limits.  It is a..."

 

"Bio-eco-cyclic environment, or something like that.  It is a micro-ecosystem.  Don't you see it?  There is energy, food, recycling, everything is here.  Even waste management."  The engineer broke in and turned to Seto.  "I didn't know you were involved in this kind of research.  This is amazing.  What you've achieved, especially with recycled 'waste' is beyond what anyone could expect.  Is this what Kaiba Corporation is working on?  Why the company is in such upheaval?"

 

"This is..."  Seto tried to curb the man's enthusiasm only to have the site supervisor interrupt him.

 

"Who painted this?  It's incredible.  Kaiba you are a genius, everyone knows that, but I've never heard you were a great artist.  Kaiba, this painting is..."

 

"Mine."  Katsuya broke in with a hard voice.  "Everything is mine.  I did it, not Kaiba.  I created everything you see here.  Seto bought the building and is fixing it up, but I did all this before."  Jou turned angry eyes up to Seto.  "Tell them."

 

Seto pushed back a tumbled lock of Jou's hair.  "Everything here was created by Jounouchi Katsuya, my dear friend and classmate.  I will make one adjustment to what he said.  That painting is mine, for the cost of the building.  The building is his - once it is fixed up."

 

The engineer turned to Jou with alacrity.  "Who are you with?"

 

"Ah, with?  I'm with Kaiba I suppose, since I'm his responsibility."  Jou looked nonplussed for a moment.

 

"You are right Katsuya, you're with me."  Seto smile took on a dangerous edge.  "And he's not open to offers."  The engineer nodded and paled slightly.

 

The site supervisor stepped forward and bowed to them both.  "I am Kinji, construction supervisor.  Your painting is incredibly beautiful.  There is such loss, sadness, and love.  I've never seen a depiction like it.  Kaiba-san got a bargain if he gave you this wreck of a building for that painting."

 

The architect moved to study the painting, and after a few moments, stepped back.  "Do you have any more work?  Or is this simply a one off."

 

"Ah..."  Jou looked helplessly at Seto.  Sure he'd said the paintings didn't matter, but the idea of others seeing his weirdness was scary.

 

"Kinji, you are wearing your tool belt.  That's good.  You will need your hammer to pry boards off windows."  Seto caught Jou's hand in one of his own and caught his brother's hand in the other.  "Let's show you his body of work."  He looked over at the engineer.  "Arakaki if you are impressed by the work up here, wait until you see his art."  Seto hesitated a moment.  "Oh, you know Kinji, Arakaki is the engineer who asked who you were with, and Oonishi is the architect we are considering for the job."  In that one sentence, with the taking of Jou's hand before he took Mokuba's,  he let all three of the men know that if they upset Jounouchi none of them would be getting the job, or any job for Kaiba Corporation.

 

Jou clutched Seto's hand tight, taking comfort in the steady confidence the genius felt about this.  He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders.  "Okay."  After one shaky step, he confidently led the way to his tool and storage area and opened the trapdoor.  After a quick glance at Seto, Jou let go of the brunet's supporting hand and slid down the ladder.

 

Mokuba after a "Cool."  followed Jou into the depths.  Seto gestured to the others and one at a time they descended.  When Seto finally stepped off the ladder, Mokuba, Kinji and Jou were holding the small LED's.  "So yeah, Kinji-san, if you will follow me I'll show you where the windows are."  The blond offered gruffly.

 

"No need Jounouchi-kun.  I can see the light poking through."  The man pulled out his hammer and in just a few hard blows, had cleared a window letting in the sunlight.  After a stunned, awed glance at the wall and its contents the man went to work on the rest of the boarded windows and doors.

 

Arakaki studied each painting as the light hit it, making small sounds of wonder and appreciation.  Oonishi after a cursory glance at a few turned to stand by the opening to the next room.  Kinji took the hint and went in with his hammer, and in just a few minutes the room was flooded with light.

 

Jou retrieved his tiny LED lights and carefully put them away, then followed as the group went from room to room, apartment to apartment.  He would have normally been glowing at the praise of Mokuba, Seto, Kinji, and Arakaki, but Oonishi was giving him an odd vibe.  The feeling the man was projecting was as strong as any emotion Jou got from touch.  It wasn't pleasant, it was powerful and kind of like the 'hungry' that Seto had, but Oonishi's was deeper and seemed to vibrate with strength of purpose.

 

Jou didn't know what the man wanted, but he was sure he wanted nothing to do with it.  Unconsciously he stepped closer to Seto and linked their arms, huddling into Seto's warmth.  After a brief glance, Seto pulled him closer.

 

It was over an hour later when the group reached the ladder again.  "We will need someone to move the artwork before you can begin work.  You understand now why I did not want anyone up here."  Seto didn't ask.  Any knowledgeable person seeing Katsuya's art knew its value.

 

Oonishi stepped forward and bowed low to the blond artist.  "I have a friend at Domino Museum West Gallery.  I'll ask him to arrange for experienced art handlers to pack and store the paintings.  If that is all right?"  he smiled warmly, causing Jou to shiver and turn his head away.

 

"I've already spoke to Ishtar Ishizu from the National Museum of Fine Art.  I endow a wing there, and although I have  met her only a few times, I am assured of her competence.  Her people should arrive within the next half hour to store and transport.  She will see to the framing of any works suitable for hanging."

 

"Of course, she is renowned."  Oonishi bowed again.  "The artist's studio you mentioned.  It is for Jounouchi-san?"  Unexpectedly Oonishi reached out and clasped Jou's hand in both of his.  "It will be an honor.  I will personally design a studio for you.  You want it on the top floor of course.  Walk with me and tell me about how you want to paint, what you want to paint.  Large, small, sunlight, moonlight, everything you want or need.  I'll give it to you."

 

The darkness was gone, and the hunger had changed.  It wasn't like Seto's at all, instead it was a determined light that seemed to come right from the heart of the architect.  The man genuinely wanted to give Katsuya everything.  The thought dazzled the blond, who had never really been given a choice in anything.  Without thought, he released his hold on Seto and allowed the architect to draw him away, answering the questions about light and space with increasing eagerness.

 

Seto watched the blond go with misgivings and a kind of grudging patience.  The switch the other man had done was too fast.  From doubtful to devoted in less than an hour, especially when the guy hadn't shown more than passing interest in Katsuya's art?  It rang false and sent Seto's alarms jangling.  Something was off about the architect.  He would keep a close eye on the pair and if the architect did or said anything strange Seto would pitch him out a window.  It wasn't like his people didn't have a long history of covering up their involvement with people who had disappeared over the years.

 

Seto kept a close eye on the pair, smiling to himself as he saw Katsuya open up for the first time about his art.  It was like watching a caged bird suddenly flying free.  There were a few hesitant flutterings, then suddenly the golden bird soared, gesturing with every word, his face animated and brilliance shining from him like the sun.  That brightness entranced Seto and it wasn't long before he, Mokuba, and the others were trailing after Jou and the architect, basking in the radiance.

 

When Jou finished his description of his 'dream' studio he gave his new friend 'Nishi a warm smile.  "I think that does it."

 

"It's perfect.  I can see exactly what you want.  You are very specific on the dimensions and the angles of light you want to use.  Most artists are more emotive and less practical, Katsuya."  The architect smiled back with equal warmth.  "It makes my job easier if you know what you want and I don't have to interpret your emotions."  The caring look cooled and hardened as it moved to Seto.  "I can have plans for the studio in just a few hours once we have the design of the lower floors."

 

"Let's go down and check out the lower four floors, meet with the current residents - Katsuya's family - and go from there."  Seto smiled slightly.  "Jou, if you could lead the way?"

 

Downstairs Katsuya's family, younger, healthier, but completely pissed looking, waited en masse.  They were actually smart enough to hold off on their attack and assume calm, if not pleasant masks, as if the renovation of their slum apartment building were a commonplace occurrence.  While they discussed their needs with the engineer and the architect, Seto excused himself to make a phone call.

 

When he returned, he abruptly interrupted the discussions.  "Katsuya and I were up all night and haven't eaten since yesterday.  That ferocious rumbling you hear is not the pipes, it is Katsuya's stomach.  Also, his family were too excited by the project to eat this morning.  You three have enough to go on surely.  My car will be here in just a few moments to take us to Mako's.  In the meantime, they must go and pack.  I did not realize the poor condition of the building and had thought they could remain.  It is obvious even to my untrained eye that they can't."  He gestured to the newly transformed Upyri.  "Go pack your clothes.  My men will bring them to my home and my servants will arrange them while we are eating."  He may have used a cordial tone, but there was no mistaking the order.  Kinji and Arakaki exchanged glances and Oonishi shifted slightly closer to Katsuya, a move that Seto did not miss.

 

Abruptly the brunet turned on the architect.  "When can you have the preliminary drawings on my desk?"

 

"As you heard, they prefer a more open, western floorplan.  That will require a complete gutting of the structure.  Not a bad thing because the plumbing and electrical are substandard.  The walls have mold and evidence of pests.  Complete gutting can begin as soon as the art is moved and the garden protected."

 

"Ishtar Ishizu herself is on her way to head the packing of the art."  Seto smiled slightly at the man's double take.  Ishtar Ishizu may choose to appear as female to most of the world, but Seto knew the older Upyri in his masculine form as well.  Both forms were attractive, but that wasn't why Seto called Ishizu.  There were no other Upyri art specialist for Seto to call on.  Ishizu had been happy to comply with his request personally.  "My men will be here to gather the luggage."  He nodded slightly to the outsiders.  "I trust you can get started with what you have?  Let me know if you have any questions.  I've already added my text line to your phones."

 

There really was nothing left to say at that point and the men had been in the business long enough to know a dismissal when they heard one.  With mumbled 'goodbyes' they made themselves scarce.  Jou shifted slightly and turned to go to his apartment.  "I'ma go pack too.  Uh... where are we going?"

 

"Back to my home, the Upyri Royal House.  You saw it yesterday."

 

"Thought that was your father's house or something."  Jou frowned in confusion.

 

"It is the home of the family of the King.  Before me it belonged to Atemu and Yugi, then my fater.  When my father entrusted Mokuba and I to Kaiba Gozaburo before his death, because we were part of the Royal Family, the Kaiba family moved into the house.  Because I do not have a mate, Gozaburo is head of the family and rules over the family house, although he is not of the royal line."  Seto glared at a particularly annoying spot on the wall.  "The laws are complicated and a pain in the ass.  Because we were left in his care we had to assume his name.  Because we are the last of the royal line our ancestral  home is under his control."

 

"Uhm, isn't there something you can do?  I mean, you obviously hate the guy, since you threw him out a building and all."  Jou hitched his shoulder.  "Wanna tell me what he did to make you do that?  I want to avoid it."

 

"He offered his son Noa as my breeder."  Seto practically snarled.  Mokuba actually growled and lunged at Seto.  If Seto hadn't been so fast, his brother would have tore his throat out.  As it was Seto caught Mokuba and held him in a hard grasp.  "Mokuba get ahold of yourself.  I threw Gozaburo out of the window remember?  I refused and made Noa off limits by claiming him as my ward."

 

The black-haired boy visibly fought for control.  Seto nodded and released him.  Jou was even more confused.  "Thought breeders were normal for you guys.  What's the deal?"

 

"Noa is like our brother.  Mokuba is especially fond of him although Noa is years older than me.  The deal is that Breeders are common, but not right.  When Upyri have children, the 'mother' gives up part of her line to the child.  For me, for you, for Mokuba, that would not be an issue.  But some lines have been overbred and have almost completely diminished.  Noa has only one line that covers about half of his chest.  When he, if he, chooses to mother a child, he will most likely die when it is born.  Anyone who mates with him will be limited to bearing children themselves, something not a lot of Upyri want because it decreases their line and can lead to death and loss of power, or live with the fact that their mate will die when their child is born.  Upyri like Noa are not mated, nor are they used as breeders.  They are normally alone for their entire lives.  Lives they choose to end early because of loneliness."

 

"Well huh, that's easy, why don't they just share lines?  Isn't that what my dad said that the Ilati-inu did?  Merged or shared lines or something?"

 

"It doesn't work that way with Upyri Katsuya."  Seto explained softly.

 

"Sure it does.  Don't you remember?  The lady said that we had joined lines.  We were both Upyri then, and she was right about everything else.  Why wouldn't she be right about that?"

 

"She did, but it could be different with your people Katsuya.."  Seto agreed, surprised that he hadn't remembered it before now and that Katsuya clearly did.  And it also explained why the mating issue came up with Jou's father.  He needed to talk to Jou's family.  He needed to know exactly what was likely to happen between him and Katsuya.

 

"It's not."  Ito's cool, firm voice broke in.  "And this is not the place for this conversation, nor is a restaurant.  I presume you have food at the place you are taking us.  We will eat there."  Her smooth young face wrinkled in disgust.  "I won't drink blood."

 

"Nobody offered you any, you old bat."  Mokuba snapped.  "As if we'd offer up such a sacred thing to a bunch of ungrateful asshats."

 

"Mokuba!  Respect your elders."  Seto growled, more concerned by Mokuba alienating a possible source of information than any true concern or courtesy for the woman.

 

"She's bossy and insolent.  You are king and the old bitch is..."  A stinging slap stopped Mokuba's diatribe.  Ito gave him a hard glare and shook her hand to cool it.

 

"You will not speak to me or about me like that, you upstart demon spawn."  She ordered sharply.  "If you dare I will wash your mouth out with soap."

 

"Bitch I will have you beheaded."  Mokuba held his hand to his cheek.  "Seto..."

 

The brunet gave him a cool look.  "Not undeserved Mokuba.  You would never speak to any of the other Upyri like that.  They are Upyri now, as rare or rarer than Malka.  Something you didn't seem to absorb during our talk is that all seven of them survived Mokuba - all seven.  That makes them even more valuable.  You will accord them the courtesy they deserve as valued members of our family."

 

"Family!  They..."  The protest died as a horrified look spread across Mokuba's face.  "Are family.  And I thought Gozabuttface was bad."

 

"Perhaps I shouldn't have told you about them."  Seto mused quietly.  "I expected better than this from you."

 

"Seto she is..."  Mokuba started to passionately defend his stance only to deflate when Seto murmured "An Upyri  Elder."

 

Tears filled Mokuba's eyes, whether from rage or something else, was anyone's guess, but he turned to Ito-san and bowed low.  "I apologize, Ito-sama.  You were correct in striking me.  I deserved worse for my behavior."

 

The rest of Katsuya's family joined them one after the other.  When they were all assembled, Seto waved towards the large black stretch H2 Hummer Limo waiting at the curb.  As his reluctant guests piled in, he said quietly.  "It seats up to twenty-four so I think there will be enough room for the nine of us, and perhaps your life partners if you want to pick them up?"  

 

A blond man Seto recognized as Katsuya's father, snarled, "As if we'd bring you to our families to slaughter like cattle to feed your bloodlust?"

 

Seto lifted his brows slightly, "Because you have been slaughtered and fed upon?"  He slid into his seat and pulled Jou down next to him.  Mokuba sat on the seat beside them, and Jou's family took the seats across.

 

"You've done worse haven't you?"  A  short, slim man with long brownish black hair hissed.

 

"I'm sorry I don't know your name, we never got as far as introductions.  You all were too busy plotting the murder of Katsuya."  Seto smiled with brilliant coldness.  "I am Kaiba Seto, your King.  You are?"

 

When the man folded his arms and turned away stubbornly, Jou leaned forward and gestured.  "I introduced you to Ito-san yesterday.  You met my dad too, and Suzuki-san.  The short guy with the baby's pout is Kobayashi-san, the tall skinny lady with the forever pissed look is Mori-san, and the tall guy with the big ears is Shimizu-san.  Dad and me shared an apartment on the first floor.  Ito-san was on the first floor too because her knees pained her.  The others stayed in the apartments on the second floor."  He shifted back and laid his head on Seto's shoulder.  "They were all Ilati-Inu until I transformed them."

 

Jou drew comfort from Seto's steady warmth, then sat back up.  "Dad, is it true?  What you told Seto yesterday?  I heard it all, about the Ilati-Inu and  stuff.  Did you guys really go into exile with me when I was just a little kid?"

 

"It is the truth, just as the fact that you are no son of mine.  Do not address me like that again.  You are outcast for what you've done to us."  Golden eyes spat rage and hate at the teen and Jou huddled back against Seto, rocked to his core by the dark emotions directed at him.

 

Seto pulled him into his lap, wrapping his arms around him as if to shield him from the hatred.  "What has he done?  Oh wait!"  Seto snapped his fingers as if he just remembered something he'd forgotten.  "He stopped you from murdering him, and stopped me from declaring war on you and your people for daring to attempt to  harm him."  Ferocity carved animalistic cruelty into Seto's visage.  "He saved you and them because he knew if you were Upyri, I would be bound to protect you, even from myself, and by extension, your families."

 

The stick thin woman Jou had identified as Mori-san snorted derisively.  "As if he has the ability to plan more than how to tie his shoes.  And that was late and hard learned."

 

Seto looked from one to the other, studying each of the new Upyri.  "You really hate him so much that you have never bothered to see past your own prejudice to the person, the fantastically talented, brilliant person he is."

 

"You are looking at him with your one-eyed snake if you believe that."  Kobayashi disparaged.  "And that is doomed for disappointment."  He cracked a harsh laugh, ruining his adorable baby face looks for a moment.

 

"I keep hearing about this nasty surprise, now you talk about disappointment.  What aren't you telling me?  What don't I know?"  Seto gave them a fierce glare.  "Don't push me any further on this.  I"m taking you to my home, I need to know if there is danger, although I don't see it."

 

"It's no secret, not really.  Even he can tell you, if he can put two thoughts together."  Mori sneered.

 

When Seto slipped his hand under his shirt, the small man huffed.  "Fine, if it will spare us more pain because of him.  He is not normal.  You know that, or you should, but do you know how abnormal?  His body, he looks big and tall, like a gaijin or haafu, but if you look closely, his body is that of a child, an overgrown child. Our people paid for tests they could not afford to check him out, the doctors, both human and Ilati-Inu agree.  For very year a normal child ages, he advances less than nine months.  He will never catch up.  The damage was done before his tenth birthday - or perhaps for him it was his eighth birthday.  The gap is growing every day.  His eighteenth birthday passed three months ago, but his body, his mind, despite his size, is eleven, perhaps twelve.  His rate of growth and advancement have slowed to almost a stop.  The doctors say that soon, perhaps a year or two,  he will stop progressing entirely.  He will forever be a child no more than thirteen Kaiba Seto, King of Upyri.  He will never be able to mate or have children.  He will never have the maturity for a true life-partner commitment."

 

Seto sat back and regarded the group thoughtfully.  "Katsuya do they believe that?"

 

"Yeah.  Seto, they are almost pissing themselves laughing inside.  They think it's funny and there is a lot of meanness too."  Jou huddled closer.  "Is it a bad thing?  I like being me."

 

"Well, it seems one more stop today.  Katsuya you are going to see a doctor.  A Upyri doctor.  I'll be there with you so it won't be bad, I promise."  He soothed when the blond stiffened in his arms.

 

"Is he gonna stick his fingers in cold stuff and put them up my butt?  The other doctor did and I hated it."

 

"If he has to do something like that I'll be right there and I'll make him warm the cold stuff, okay?"  Seto bit back the image of warm stuff and Jou's butt with pure strength of will.  He must not have succeeded in tromping down the emotions because Jou shifted slightly and whispered.  "You're hungry?"

 

"Yeah, a little."  Seto whispered back.

 

Mokuba who had been sitting quietly, suddenly shouted, "Peter Pan!  Katsuya is Peter Pan!"

 

Seto grinned at that.  Trust his little brother to make that connection.  When Katsuya's stomach growled again, he rubbed the blond's back comfortingly.  For a moment he considered breaking the taboo on humans as food, then put the thought away.  He'd have to look up the laws because he was almost sure they only covered Upyri, humans, and Malka - that made Ilati-Inu fair game.  If these jerks upset Katsuya too much, he'd give them their fondest wish and declare them Ilati-Inu and see about a feast.

 

Now that he knew what the nasty surprise was, he settled back and ignored his new family.  He really didn't want to deal with their particular ugliness again.

 

Their arrival back at the Royal Abode was greeted with smiles and genuine happiness by Noa and the staff.  Gozaburo was stiff and cold, at least until Seto explained they would only be staying until their new home was finished.  He and Rex would maintain their positions as overseers to the place.

 

During that meal Seto was amazed to discover that all Ilati-Inu Upyri were able to eat foods that would normally make a Upyri ill.  There were garnishes on the meat platters that they treated like side dishes and they disappeared rapidly.  Seto, after several minutes of waiting for the moans of pain and sickness, finally realized it wasn't going to happen.  He ordered a servant to bring more of the 'sides' and had one run to get Katsuya his red beans.

 

After their meal, Seto called for an Emergency meeting of the Elders and all Advisors.  As the Ilati-Inu stood quietly in the circle, Seto explained about Katsuya, what Katsuya's father had said, what they had tried to do to Katsuya, and what Katsuya had done - successfully transformed six Ilati-Inu.

 

Seto expected there to be excitement, maybe a call to contact the Ilati-Inu, something.  Instead the most Elder Advisor, one who had been an advisor to Atemu's father, Solomon, stood slowly and addressed everyone.  "The Ilati-Inu are not newly discovered, nor are they hidden from us.  We have always known of them, although we did not know that you had come in contact with one, Majesty.  We avoid them as they avoid us because even though we know that they can transform easily, to bring one into our fold is to bring a viper into our nest.  They would destroy us if they could."

 

"What?  Why?  I don't understand?"  Seto looked around at the advisors.  "And why am I just hearing about this now?"

 

"When you assumed your role as head of the royal house you would have been allowed access to the archive.  The Ilati-Inu are the keepers of the bloodline for the Oracle of Ishtar.  For obvious reasons we keep their existence a secret."

 

"Oracle?  They talk to Ishtar?" Seto turned to look at the Ilati-Inu.

 

Ito-san shook her head.  "That is what you call it.  We called her an Avatar, a true incarnation of the spirit of Ishtar.  She held all the memories of the goddess, all the experiences, all the power."

 

"Called?  Held?  She is dead?"  Seto only hoped she hadn't died at or just prior to Jou's birth.  That would be the icing on the cake.

 

"No.  It would be better that she were."  Mori-san shook her head.  "She went against Ishtar's wishes and the goddess cast her from the temple.  She is now powerless and when she attempts to enter the temple to beg for forgiveness she is cast out again."

 

"Whoa, really pissed off Ishtar."  Mokuba didn't sound too upset about it though.  "So, what did she do?"

 

"We do not know.  It happened after we were exiled.  We have only had news during our conjugal visits with our mates and our visits to the temple to renew our bond with Ishtar."  Shimizu, who hadn't spoken more than three words, explained quietly.

 

The Elder frowned slightly.  "Then who is ruling your people?  The Oracle is your ruler, your guide, your queen."

 

"There is a council of Elders not unlike this one."  The older Jounouchi snapped.  "Ito would have been on it, as would Mori, had we not been exiled."

 

"I see.  King, I know you may not understand, but allow me to solve this issue.  I have been the lead advisor to three kings, and I know the laws and what must be done.  Please grant me leave."  He held Seto's gaze for a moment before dropping to one knee.  "I have never asked of such before, but in this case, I ask it now, for all of my centuries of service."

 

Seto swallowed hard and nodded.  How could he do otherwise?  Atemu had trusted Solomon implicitly.  Seto would do a disservice to his dead cousin and the kings before him if he said no.  "You have my leave."

 

He stood from his kneeling position and closed his eyes in thought.  "This was an accident and cannot be changed.  It is not allowed for Ilati-Inu to dwell with us in any form but we cannot undo the past.  So, I propose this:  For the mated Ilati-Inu - we offer transformation to your mates.  If you and they do not accept, you will be educated on what you need to survive, then you will be cast back into exile, to die together within your normal life spans as I know you mate monogamously for life.  You will receive no further assistance from us, nor will we interfere with you.  If they choose to slit your throats in the middle of the night we will not stop them."  The old man glanced around the room, his eyes lingering for a moment where Jou huddled into Seto's side.  "If transformation is accepted, you and your mates will be exiled from our people because our numbers are few and your people are known to act in underhanded methods to harm Upyri.  However, we will support your lives, educate you and your children, and teach you to live as Upyri.  Those are your choices."

 

Seto wanted to erupt, because that sounded like the old man was going to kick Katsuya to the curb.  That was not something he would allow, old kings or not.  The only reason he didn't blow was the steady, firm look in the old man's eyes that said 'trust me.'

 

"We have no choice to but to accept the transformation, just as they will have no choice."  Kobayashi observed bitterly.

 

"There is always choice.  You all have lived long lives and were nearing your end, except for Katsuya's father.  You and your mates would have died soon anyway.  Live until your mates die.  They will enjoy young lovers I'm sure."  The old man took a slow breath.  "You will stay here under guard until your home is finished, as I've been told that the King has been kind enough to pay to provide you with something better than the squalor you wallowed in as a gift to Kaiba Katsuya."

 

"What?  Wait?  What did you call my son?"  The elder Jounouchi snapped.

 

"You were not given leave to interrupt."  The old man chided.  "However, perhaps I misunderstood. Majesty, did you not say that Jounouchi Katsuya was disowned by his family?  In addition, did not that same family instigate this whole travesty by attempting to manipulate your presence into a reason to murder him?"

 

"You misunderstood nothing.  The name Jounouchi was stricken, the name of my stepfather - Kaiba - is the name I carry now, will be his until I can reclaim my Royal House name."  Seto smiled slightly.  "Katsuya, tell them your name please."

 

The blond head lifted proudly.  "I am Katsuya.  I haven't earned the name Kaiba, or any other.  I will not recognize any name until I have earned it."

 

Seto stared in shock at the boy by his side.  How could he have forgotten how proud, how fiery Katsuya was.  Of course he wouldn't simply accept the name Kaiba.  Not if he saw it as pity.  "Katsuya it's a gift you don't have to earn it."

 

"Save it for my birthday.  I don't want his name."  He gestured to the older blond he used to call 'dad' and he glowered at Seto.  "And I hafta earn my place.  I told you, I won't be a burden to you.  I'm not taking anything from you I don't earn and that includes your name."  His chin jutted pugnaciously, daring anyone to challenge his decision.

 

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.  He doubted a king had ever been in his current position.  "Must you always be a pain in the ass?"

 

The stubborn look didn't fade, it deepened even though Katsuya grinned cheekily.  "Yeah! Get used to it, we're gonna be together a long time."

 

"Ah, fine."  Seto growled.  Truthfully he would have agreed to almost anything to hear those words of promise from Katsuya.  "His name is Katsuya until he declares otherwise."

 

The elder blond started to protest only to scream unintelligibly and go silent, his hand clapped over his mouth.  Katsuya lowered his shirt back over his incredibly ornate lines and smoothed it back down.  "I'm hungry again.  Is there any more koshian?  Or maybe some edamame?"

 

"One more thing."  Seto turned to Gozaburo.  "They are guests until they show they are enemies.  Treat them accordingly.  Katsuya is equal to me, do you understand?"  When the older man nodded, Seto pressed "Make sure everyone understands, an offence to him is an offence to me or my brother."

 

"Yes, Majestly."  The other man's face was completely expressionless.

 

Katsuya looked at the older man sharply.  "He really hates you Seto.  I think he wants to try to kill you."

 

There was a gasp around the room, and Gozaburo shook his head.  "Everyone knows I am loyal.  Your fancies are but childish..."

 

"He is an Empath, in case I failed to tell you before.  He is as sensitive and more, than Yugi was.  I believe him.  So, I will give you warning, serve me faithfully despite your hate and you will live long.  If I suspect any plot or treason, I will call your line to me and gift it to Noa."

 

Eyes on the floor, Gozaburo answered woodenly.  "I understand Majesty."

 

Seto didn't answer, simply nodded his dismissal and turned to Katsuya.  "Are you going to be a bottomless pit?"

 

"Growin' boy."  Katsuya grinned.  "Koshian and edamame."

 

"We'll go to the kitchens now."  Seto snagged Mokuba's arm and the three left the Advisors, Elders, and newly transformed behind.

 

Over the weeks and months that followed, despite the constant upheaval of people trying to adapt to their changed circumstances, the days fell into a pattern.  For the blond who had worked long and hard to support and take care of his family, it was fantastic.  During the day he went to school, then an hour with one of the doctors taking one of their myriad tests, then a few hours of painting, a trip to take care of the garden and rabbits,  followed by a dinner he didn't have to grow or kill, but best of all was the nights.  He had never been happier.  Every night, since the very first arriving at Seto's home, Katsuya had curled up and slept with Seto wrapped around him.  Life couldn't get any better.  The only thing that dimmed his happiness was that Seto seemed to be hungry all the time, yet food did nothing for him.  Katsuya had actually been so worried that he'd offered to let his dear friend snack on him.  Seto had given him a disbelieving look and bolted from the room.  Seto's hunger had gotten worse since.

 

Seto was in hell.  There was no other way to describe it.  The thrall that had caused all this at the very beginning had disappeared without a trace, and Seto was content to let his security force find the being who had created the creature.

 

But the effect of the thralls actions were evident because every day Katsuya shone more brightly in the sky, radiating love, giving it to Seto, Mokuba and everyone around him without thought.  Even at school the blond would smile and laugh, touch and hug.  It was driving Seto insane.

 

The doctors had come back with reports that after much consultation, had boiled down to Katsuya being an overgrown pre-teen.  His penis was small, his scrotum enlarged, as were common at the onset of puberty, but according to Katsuya, his balls and the three hairs at the base of his penis had been unchanged for over two years.  Studies of Katsuya's bones and growth plates had proven inconclusive.  They were not sealing as they would for a teen of Katsuya's chronological age.  The doctors all agreed on that.  If they didn't know the exact age of Katsuya, they would have assumed a twelve or thirteen year old prepubescent.  These images had been compared to the images taken when Katsuya was fifteen.  There was agreement there as well.  Three years had not changed the bones as much as they should have.  They were larger, but the plates had not hardened appreciably.

 

Katsuya was an overgrown, thirteen year old physically.  The psychological tests hadn't been much of an improvement.  The doctors had placed his emotional and psychological age at between fourteen and sixteen - a very naive fourteen to sixteen.  There were flashes of older, more mature understanding, but the flashes were infrequent and not quantifiable.

 

Where did that leave Seto?  In hell, mated to someone who wasn't physically or emotionally equipped to deal with his needs.  And the reports from the doctors also all agreed on one final finding.  There was no way of knowing how many years it would take for Katsuya to reach the point where he could be a true life partner.

 

Seto placed his pen on his desk and turned to look out the window.  He should go home, he knew it, but couldn't force himself to leave.  Katsuya was waiting, probably curled up in their bed, wondering where Seto was.  Seto's need, what Katsuya called his hunger, was excruciating, and Seto was sure that - tonight - if he went home to the warm, sleepy, golden body in his bed, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from taking Katsuya, even though the blond was not ready for the demands Seto would place on him.  The damage to Katsuya would be immense, and Seto knew that even knowing that, he wouldn't stop himself.  He couldn't go home, not if he wanted to keep his promise to never hurt Katsuya.

 

There was a soft knock at his door and Seto turned to find Ishtar Ishizu stepping into the room.  He was in female form, as was his preference.  Seto honestly had trouble thinking of Ishizu as a man.  "You're here late.  Is there anything you needed to discuss before the tour starts?"

 

"Majesty..."  She hesitated, then stepped closer.  "Seto, have you considered what I said?  That you come with me on the tour?  Katsuya's art is incredible and the world is going to eat it up.  They know you are his patron and his protector.  It will ring well with the people who come to view his works."  Another step brought her body within inches of his.  "You have needs Seto, and I would be honored to give you what you need.  If this form is distasteful I can assume my masculine form."

 

"Katsuya..."

 

"Hasn't progressed a single day.  He is exactly as he was eight months ago.  Are you going to continue to torture yourself for someone who isn't even your mate?"  She asked bluntly.

 

"The laws state that if an Upyri transforms someone, they become mates.  Katsuya mates for life, monogamously."  Seto gritted as her elegant hand slipped over his hip to rub lightly along his zipper, but he didn't remove the touch as he had in the past.

 

"He didn't return the bite.  It is incomplete, not binding, the laws do not cover such an event."  Her voice was low and soft, the rasp of his zipper loud as it lowered.

 

"But I..."  The strain was obvious in the King's voice, as was the yearning and for the first time, wavering of his conviction.  When her skilled hand closed around him, stroking firmly, Seto's hips arched and his head dropped forward.  "Ah that is so wrong, Ishizu."

 

"No, it's so right.  It's not cheating, it's not lying, it's giving you what you need.  He can't, but that doesn't mean you don't have the needs.  Would he want you to hurt?  He loves you.  It's not wrong."  She whispered as she slid to her knees in front of him and leaned forward to capture his hardness between her lips.  "I'll show you."

 

****

 

Katsuya woke to a flurry of activity in the room.  He had waited up most of the night, wanting to talk to Seto, worried about the way he seemed to be so hungry and hurting.  Startled, he jerked awake.  "Seto?"  He questioned, looking around for the missing brunet.

 

"His Highness is downstairs waiting for his bags.  You need to hurry if you want to say goodbye Katsuya."  The rapidly packing servant said cheerfully.

 

"Huh?  Uh?  He's going on a trip?  He didn't tell me."  Katsuya slid out of bed only to falter to a stop as he saw the number of bags already packed.  "You're packing enough for a month.  He only goes overnight at most."

 

"He's joining Ishizu-san on the art tour.  They expect to be gone for about a year.  He says he will pick up the rest of  what he needs on the way."  For a moment the servant hesitated, then lifted dark eyes to the blond standing shellshocked by the bed.  "You need to go wish him a good trip Katsuya."  Compassion for the childlike man gleamed briefly in his eyes.

 

"A year!  No!  He..."  In a blur the blond was gone.  The servant looked after him a moment and sighed sadly.  What choice had his Majesty had?  The state of the bed the previous night had spoken for itself.  Everyone but Katsuya knew how badly the king wanted his mate.  The mattress had practically been shredded and the blankets had been tattered, and Katsuya hadn't even noticed.

 

"Seto!"  Katsuya spotted him immediately, surrounded by advisors dressed incongruously as businessmen instead of the Upyri garments he was used to seeing.  "What is going on?"  The blond skidded to a stop just a few inches from his target, shoving the elders away without regard for them or their stations.  Seto was his!

 

A strained smile answered him.  "I'm taking a gap year between high school and college, and I'm going to tour the world with your art."   It was a simple explanation, but the effect on his mate was instant.  Confusion, shock, disbelief were chasing through the golden eyes.

 

"But... You never said...?  You can't go!  You can't... I... Seto you can't go..."  Katsuya was losing his ability to articulate.  All he saw was his touchstone, his Seto, was leaving him.  He didn't see the regret and resolve that flashed across Seto's features.

 

"Katsuya!"  Mokuba, taller than when they first met, and, somehow less playful, more mature, called his name sharply.  "My brother is not answerable to you.  He is going on this trip for his own happiness.  Don't you want him to be happy?"  The words were harsh, but Mokuba was broadcasting waves of misery.  He didn't want Seto to go either.  But saying that wouldn't make things better.

 

Eyes wet with tears, Katsuya leapt on Seto and wrapped his arms and legs around the slim body, holding on tight.  "Don't go."  Tears glimmered and fell.  "Please don't go."

 

For the first time, Seto's hands pushed him away, setting him firmly back on his own feet.  "Katsuya, I'm going.  Stop behaving like a spoiled child."

 

Desperate hands reached for him.  "Let me go too.  I'll behave, I promise.  Let me go with you!  I need you!  Who will hold me at night?  Please!  Only you make me happy!"

 

"No, Katsuya.  You have a lot of learning to do about Upyri, and now that we've developed a technique that allows you to learn concepts you should have at school, you have a lot to catch up on."  When the blond started to protest, Seto shook his head with finality.  "No Katsuya."  The click of a heel on tile caught Seto's attention.  "Ishizu, are the tickets arranged?"  The tall body turned away, and stepped close to the older Upyri.

 

The blond drew a deep breath and nearly choked.  On a shattered voice he croaked.  "You smell like her-him.  You..."  His eyes flared wide and a demon that Seto had nearly forgotten peeked out.  "Go then.  You are a liar.  You promised, and now because you got laid you're breaking your word to stay with me.  You're like the rest.  Just like them.  At least they were honest about it when they wanted me dead.  You should have killed me instead of making me believe you cared.  You're just a liar and I hate you!"  Without another word, the enraged blond streaked from the room faster than any Upyri ever created.

 

Seto froze, realizing just what this was doing to the blond, but before he could race after him and explain, Ishizu caught his arm.  "Let him go.  He needs to accept what is, just as you accepted last night.  That is what you told me this morning.  He is taking a step towards accepting.  You knew this would hurt him, I held you as you cried for him.  Now let him learn to rely on someone else.  You have appointed your brother as guardian, let that be enough for now."

 

Seto bowed his head slightly, battling with his demons.  This was right, he knew it was, but it still felt wrong.  He was doing this for the best, so he didn't snap and attack his precious Katsuya, doing irreparable harm.  Ishizu had helped him the night before.  It was amazing how well sexual relief cleared the mind.  He saw his position distinctly, and the jeopardy Katsuya was in.  He hadn't 'fucked' Ishizu.  He wouldn't, not while his status was so ambivalent.  Ishizu wasn't the class to be a concubine, or breeder, and Seto couldn't offer the older Upyri more.  Not that he wanted to, but he didn't want to take what the other Upyri offered because he knew that it would lead to Ishizu having expectations he couldn't - wouldn't - ever fulfill.  Of course if she offered more blow jobs, Seto wouldn't turn that down.  Now that he knew the benefits of a good nut he wasn't going to pass one up.

 

He knew this little scene would be relayed to Katsuya and he hoped that after the anger faded, his dear one would understand why he had left, but he couldn't leave it at this, he had to do something to make sure Katsuya's pain would be eased somehow.  "Mokuba."  He whispered knowing his brother would hear.  "Take care of him."  He broke Ishizu's grasp on his arm and swept out of the house before the faint sound of heartbroken tears changed his mind.

 

Mokuba stared at the door for a minute, his heart clenching painfully in his chest.  Right up until the door closed, Mokuba had thought Seto would change his mind.  He was positive his big brother would have stayed if that Ishizu hadn't interfered.  He owed that Upyri, and he would make sure to collect on that debt.  The sound of Katsuya's heartbreak was echoing through the house, vibrating the walls.  He would worry about Ishizu when they returned.  For now he would do as his brother had asked of him.  He would take care of Katsuya.

 

He found the blond huddled on Seto's bed, clutching Seto's pillow to his chest.  "Katsuya, since big brother's gone on an adventure, I think it's time we go on our own adventure."

 

The brisk tone brought the drowning golden eyes up.  "What?"

 

"You heard me.  We're going on an adventure too."

 

Golden eyes sparkled with hope.  "We're going to follow them?  Sneak on the plane?"  It was obvious that this wasn't the first time the blond had thought of it.

 

"No, don't be stupid.  Who needs 'em?  We can have our own adventures.  I think we should go visit your sister, see if she wants to hang, maybe get her to come on a few adventures with us."  That was the one thing guaranteed to capture Katsuya's attention.  Since the transformation of the 'mates' of Katsuya's previous family, the blond hadn't violated the 'exile' rule, but Mokuba knew for a fact that Katsuya made time to hide in the empty buildings next to his old home and watch from a distance.

 

"But the exile...?  Seto will be mad if I..."  Abruptly the blond's expression firmed.  "Fuck it.  Yeah, let's go visit Shizuka."

 

Mokuba nodded.  "Oh I checked with the Elders.  Only the adults were included, not their kids.  Which is why you were exempt from exile.  There was something about the temple too but I didn't care about that."

 

"What about Noa?  Is he coming too?"  Wariness gleamed in Katsuya's eyes.

 

"Seto left him in charge of a lot of stuff at the company.  He's really busy."  Mokuba frowned a little.  "You don't like him much do you?"

 

"I like him okay, but... but sometimes he feels hungry, like Seto does.  He used to scare me because I thought he was going to eat you."   Katsuya blushed a little at his own stupidity.

 

"Hungry?  Like how?"  Mokuba was confused.  There was always plenty of food.

 

"I don't know if that's right.  Seto never explained except to say I wasn't a meal.  It's like my stomach feels funny and tight, and sometimes I feel dizzy from my heart beating so fast.  Seto felt that way all the time.  I thought he was really hungry for blood so I offered him some of mine and it got worse."  The blond head lowered slightly.  "I wonder if that's ..."  His breath stopped and he choked slightly.  "He wasn't hungry.  Earlier, when I hugged him, it was gone."

 

Mokuba stared at the older teen with shock.  "Katsuya, by hungry, do you mean horny?  When you and Seto had sex, was it the same feeling?"

 

Katsuya jerked slightly.  "Sex?  Me and Seto?  We don't have sex.  He said he didn't want dumb kids so he didn't want to have sex with me."

 

Mokuba stared wide-eyed for a second, then began to laugh, doubling over with hysteria.  Katsuya tried to laugh along, but was too confused and simply stayed silent while the black-haired teen laughed himself into paroxysms.

 

Seeing the confusion on the other's face, Mokuba reached for control.  "Oh I thought you were joking.  Katsuya, Seto is your husband.  Of course he wants sex with you.  Babies too."

 

That was another shock, one that sent the blond tumbling back on the bed.  "H...Husband?"

 

"When a Upyri transforms someone - the law used to be Malka but it has been revised - by the 'Bite' they become life partners, because the Upyri takes total, permanent responsibility for that person.  Seto didn't explain?"

 

"He said I was his responsibility but not husband..."  He was obviously still trying to wrap his mind around the concept.  "I don't think they reached that in my Upyri studies either.  I would have remembered.  So he bit me and now he's my husband?  Don't I get a say?"

 

"Sure, when you bit him back."  Mokuba frowned, "You did bite him back didn't you?"

 

"No.  Should I have?"  Honest confusion creased the mobile face.

 

Mokuba wanted to tear his hair out.  His brother had been in agony and this golden-eyed kid had no clue.  "Oh Inanna.  Poor Seto."  He erupted into laughter again.

 

A small line of concentration formed on the smooth golden brow.  "But I want him to be my husband.  If he wanted sex he could have said so.  I wouldn't mind.  It wasn't too horrible when the doctor warmed that stuff.  I'm sure Seto would warm it too.  I like when Seto holds me, and it wouldn't be too bad if he stuck his dick in me.  I mean, I've seen it and it's not that big.  I poop bigger."

 

That made Mokuba shriek and laugh harder and Katsuya, after a frustrated glare, turned away from the hyena-boy.  It was a long, long time before Mokuba sobered enough to say softly.  "I'm sorry Katsuya, I know it's serious, but if you knew just how hilarious this was.  When you're older, you're going to look back on this and laugh yourself silly."

 

"Mokuba..."  The normally deep tones were small and weak.  "If he's married to me, why is he with her-him?  Why did he fuck it?"

 

"Katsuya, you told me his 'hunger' got worse.  It's painful Katsuya.  I know that just from my own experiments.  I..."  He bit his lip and confessed.  "I'm in love with someone and he doesn't feel that way for me.  He sees me as a brother.  It hurts bad sometimes, and I don't see him every day, don't have him hanging all over me, sleeping in my bed.  Seto was probably in a lot of pain.  Ishizu takes away the pain is my guess."

 

"I haven't felt that from you."  Katsuya frowned slightly.  "I haven't felt anything like that from you at all.  The most I get from you is affection for your brother, and then what you have for Noa, and that's like what I feel for Seto.  I..."  Mokuba's face burned dark and his eyes widened, even as golden eyes widened with realization of his own.  "Noa - You're in love with Noa?"

 

"Have been since I was eight."  Mokuba admitted recklessly, finally free to admit it aloud.

 

"But if... you - Noa, then does that mean I'm in love with Seto?"

 

"Love is different for everyone.  In my case I experimented with someone else and when I found myself wishing for Noa I knew what it was."  The black-haired teen suddenly lit up.  "You said Noa was hungry around me like Seto was around you.  He... If Seto wanted sex then maybe Noa is attracted to me too?"

 

Thoughtfully, the blond nodded.  "Probably."  A pause, then "Mokuba, do you think if I 'experiment' with someone else I'll know?"

 

Mokuba snorted.  "Good luck. No Upyri will come near you.  You'd have to get involved with a human.  Outside of that architect who keeps bringing around new designs for your studio you don't see any humans."

 

"I know."  The golden Upyri nodded.  "But, Mokuba, sometimes when Nishi’s around, he feels hungry too.  It always confused me, and for a while I thought he was Upyri or some other creature, but he's human.  A hungry - horny - human."

 

"Are you attracted to him?"

 

"He sometimes looks really good and once when he leaned close I thought he smelled good enough to bite.  Is that what you mean?"

 

"Yeah that is exactly what I mean."  Mokuba could see the wheels turning in the blond head and decided that they both needed a break from serious stuff.  "So wash your face and let's go visit your sister.  Uh... I have her phone number, so you can call her first, just to let her know we're coming to visit."

 

Shizuka was just as Katsuya remembered, red-haired, sweet, a little bossy, but with a kind heart.  She only met with them if they agreed to keep their meetings a secret.  She did not want her father and mother hurt.  It became a routine in the days and weeks, to meet her in one of the empty buildings that surrounded her home.  The three of them would explore, play make believe, and have grand adventures, something Katsuya relished at first, but as the weeks turned to a month, then two, his enthusiasm waned.  Seto, missing Seto, trying to understand Seto, preyed on his mind, making it impossible to concentrate on his time with Mokuba and Shizuka.  They were investigating what looked like a pile of dead fish on the beach, when it suddenly struck him that he hadn't painted since Seto had left.  With wide eyes he turned to his sister.  "Shizuka, would you like to come over to my studio?  Seto had one added to his house for me.  I... I need to paint."

 

The red-haired girl sighed and rolled her eyes.  "About time.  Katsuya, this retreat into being a little kid was fun for a few weeks, but I've been ready to stop playing kid's games for over a month."

 

"I thought you were having fun?"  It hurt that his sister hadn't wanted their adventures.

 

"I was, but we all outgrew this kind of fun a long time ago.  I don't know why you felt like running away from something by pretending to be a kid, but I'm glad you're finally starting to show who you are now.  You're a world famous artist, you're rich and important.  You are an adult, you don't belong chasing around like a street urchin."  She put her hands on her hips and glared.  "So yes, I want to see your studio, I want to see your paintings, and I want to meet this 'Seto' that you talk about with every second breath, but that Mokuba doesn't mention at all."

 

"Seto is Mokuba's brother.  He's...  If you know about the art and stuff you know who Seto is.  Kaiba - Kaiba Seto.  He's in..."  His brow wrinkled thoughtfully.  "Holland, this week.  He's been gone sixty six days, ten hours, forty-one minutes and a couple seconds. "

 

"He is your boyfriend?"  Her brow wrinkled in a copy of his.  "Then why is that Ishizu woman all over him in the papers?"

 

He bowed his head, shame and guilt making it lower than ever before.  "He needs something I can't give him.  I hurt him because I was stupid and didn't know he was hurting."  Tears dripped down the lowered cheeks.  "I told him I hate him."

 

"Well then it's your own fault isn't it."  She sounded totally heartless.  If Katsuya had looked up he would have seen a concerned gaze shared between his siblings.  "Guess it's up to you to man up and fix it."  She continued.  "Now show me your studio.  I've been dying to see it.  If you felt like painting me, I'd model for you."

 

He smiled slightly, but didn't lift his head.  "I paint war.  Do you want to be an image of war?  Helen of Troy?"

 

"Sure, whatever.  Do you know how much I'll be able to brag about being the model in a Katsuya painting?"  She laughed and yanked his arm.  "Let's go."

 

After that, Shizuka came over to the Royal Abode almost every day.  After the first time, where Jou threatened to have Gozaburo beheaded for daring to breathe wrong on his baby sister, nobody looked askance.  Not necessarily because of the threat, but because of the way Katsuya's lines had glowed golden through his shirt in an obviously barely controlled surge of power.  Nobody wanted that much power, that many lines and strange swirls, directed at them.

 

True to his word, he tossed aside a half finished painting of two mighty ironsides in battle and started a painting of Helen of Troy, although he also called it Helen of Spartus.  Standing atop a giant tower, Helen, with her hair blowing wildly in a strong wind, its redness merging with the red streaks of twilight fading into darkness, watched out over land and sea as men and gods fought for her, fought to own her, far below.  Her pure beauty was a stark contrast to the ugliness below and in the black swirling emptiness above her.  Although her expression was sad, there was wistfulness blending with a trace of fear lending it depth that made the viewer want to reach out to her, and as the picture took shape and form, they saw that she wasn't simply atop the tower, but that she was leaning out into the breeze, one slim, pale foot slightly raised as if to take that fateful step, one hair's breadth from tumbling to the rocky, corpse strewn ground far below.

 

It took much longer than any other painting Katsuya had ever painted, almost fifteen full weeks of intense labor, but when the last brush stroke was placed, he stepped back and sighed in pure satisfaction.  Many people called his other works masterpieces.  He didn't see it in them.  But this one work, it was by far the best he'd ever done, and he considered it a true masterpiece.

 

"Well?  It's done now isn't it?  I can see it finally right?  I've stood here for months letting you paint me.  The least you can do is let me see it!"  Shizuka hopped down off the pedestal and hurried behind her brother.  She froze, her entire body held immobile by the power and beauty of the painting.  "That... that's not me."  She wheezed.

 

"It's Helen.  With your face and hair, but it's Helen."  Katsuya responded calmly.

 

"I... I don't look like that.  I'm... She's..."  The girl floundered for words.

 

"She is the daughter of gods, but a pawn of the whims of men and gods alike.  She hates the violence around her, yearns to be free, to just be happy and free.  Will she take that step?  If she did would it end the madness?  Or would there be more violence, more wars?"  Katsuya calmly washed his brushes as he spoke, always respectful of the fine things given to him.  He had worked with trash and he had worked with the best.  He preferred the best and would do what he must  to keep them the best.

 

"Katsuya, you've changed."  She turned her discerning gaze from the painting to her brother.  "I don't just mean inside, but outside too.  Those pants used to drag the floor on you, now they stop at your ankles.  Your tunic used to swallow you, but now you strain the seams."

 

"Are you saying I'm getting fat?" He teased his little sister, but glanced down to see what she meant.

 

"No, but I think you've had a growth spurt.  At least six centimeters taller and maybe ten kilos.  You said you used to go to the doctor because they were worried about the way you were growing.  Maybe you should talk to Mokuba about going for another exam."  Her dark eyes moved over him anxiously.  "I just got you back big brother, I don't want to lose you."

 

"You won't."  Katsuya promised.  "I haven't done more than go to class, paint, and sleep since we started the Helen painting.  I'll check myself out in the mirror and see if it's something to be worried about okay?  If it is I'll see the doctor right away."

 

"Okay big brother, but... but..."  She glanced at her watch as the alarm chimed.  "Oh darn it, take care.  I have to go.  Remember I'm going to the temple this week with father.  Hopefully mother will be admitted this time.  She's always such a bitch when she gets tossed out on her ass.  She can't see that she earned it by defying Ishtar to begin with."  With a quick kiss on his cheek, one that prickled strangely, and a swirl of red hair, Shizuka dashed to where Mokuba was waiting with the limo to drive her a block over from her home.

 

Katsuya smiled slightly and turned away from the painting.  Glancing down at himself, he saw that his sister was right, either the servants had gone overboard on the laundry and his clothes had shrank, or he had grown a lot in the last couple months.  Curiously he explored his cheek and then his jaw and chin.  Random patches of coarse hair tickled his fingertips.  He'd never had facial hair, but he knew what it looked like, what it felt like, because Seto had it in the mornings.  More than once Seto had tickled him senseless with it.

 

Seto.  The smile dropped away as if it had never been and tears burned behind his eyes.  He missed the brunet more with every breath he took.  He wasn't angry anymore, not even a little bit.  He couldn't even blame Seto for betraying him and breaking his promise because if what Mokuba said was true, Seto had been in genuine pain and had left to protect them both.  Seto had promised to take care of him, and if leaving had been a way to do it, then Seto would have gone.  Seto promised to care for him, to always be with him, to protect him, so he'd left to protect him.

 

Still didn't explain the Ishizu crap, but if that much pain had been involved, maybe Ishizu had eased it somewhat.  If that was the case, then Katsuya was all for it, for the time being.  Until he was sure that he could be what Seto needed, he wasn't going to be a bitch about Seto doing what he had to.  Once he knew for sure one way or the other, then Katsuya would either petition to find a way to break the tie between him and Seto, or damn well finish it and get rid of the bimbo.

 

Meticulously he explored every inch of his body in the shower and continued the exploration in the mirror after he dried off.  He felt broader, stronger, and more settled into his own body.  Where before he felt all arms and legs, like he was wearing an ill-fitting suit or something, now he felt as if his physical and mental selves were finally matching up.  His arms and legs were proportionate with his torso, where before they seemed long, gangly, graceless.  His chest was deep and strong, with well defined muscles.  Masculine without being overly muscular.  His privates, something that had been of particular interest to the doctors, had changed as well, the three dark hairs becoming lost in a veritable forest of dark blond hair circling the base of his penis.  His scrotum no longer looked swollen and oversized, especially in comparison to his small penis.  Instead, the proportion was just about right, perhaps a little on the thin side, but long and well defined.  Now that he could see the changes, he could understand why the doctors were interested.  He'd been puny and kind of weak looking before and the thought crossed his mind that Seto would probably like the look of him now even more than he had before.

 

A surge of pleasure at the thought of Seto's reaction, coupled with the touch of his own hand on his penis, made Katsuya gasp slightly.  That was new.  He'd always known that area felt good, it was very sensitive, but that pleasure was entirely unknown.  It made his breath catch and his heart skip a beat.  Deliberately he stroked his hand more firmly over the tip of his penis and pictured Seto in his mind.  The image, coupled with the physical pleasure was enough to make him gasp and yank his hand away in shock.  Intense, too intense.  He would have to ask Mokuba about it.

 

If he could find Mokuba.  Ever since Katsuya had started working on 'Helen' the younger Kaiba had been scarce.  He went to dress and after a few minutes of disgusted hunting, finally grabbed his loosest, but still too tight, nylon shorts and a t-shirt that strained at the shoulders and went in search of Seto's little brother.  Not only did he want to talk to the black-haired boy about the changes and feelings, but Katsuya needed clothes.  Not many, not yet, but a few things.  If things worked out then Katsuya would choose a wardrobe fit for a King's life partner, with said King's help of course.  That thought spurred a familiar daydream of going to one of the big fancy malls, one of the kind of places he'd never gone before, even though Mokuba had offered many times.  He wanted to experience wandering the shops holding hands with Seto, trying on clothes just to see Seto smile, or laugh, depending on the outrageousness of the outfit.  He didn't want to spoil that first memory by going with anyone but Seto.

 

As he'd thought, finding Mokuba was hard, much harder than he'd thought it would be.  One servant would say he thought the young highness had gone to the west wing.  In the west wing another would say up on the rooftop terrace.  On the terrace the gardener shrugged and suggested the kitchen.

 

In the kitchen, the cooks and servants looked at him vaguely and gestured to the garden.  Katsuya frowned at them, getting the feeling he was being led down false trails deliberately.  When he found the garden empty he turned to storm back in and demand answers, only to stop abruptly when a familiar looking young girl of perhaps twelve stepped into his path.  "This way Katsuya."  She turned and strode silently through the garden, not even a twig or leaf snapping to mark her passing.

 

"Huh?  You know me?  Do I know you?"  he didn't remember seeing any girls at all.  It was kinda weird, but he didn't pick up any bad vibes.

 

"Of course I know you, just as you know me.  Don't be silly."  The girl's voice floated back to him as she disappeared around a darkened corner.

 

The blond hurried to catch up, only to skid to a stop in front of a huge, stone structure.  It wasn't tall, perhaps four feet high, with a door that opened out of the ground much like his old rooftop trap door.  "Hey, girl.  Did you go in there?"

 

"Come on!"  Her voice was distinctly impatient and Katsuya hurried down a dozen marble steps after her.  She stood in front of an altar lit by dozens of candles.  Beside the altar was a giant door.  "Ah hey, cool, I didn't know this place was here.  An underground building.  I wonder why nobody mentioned it."

 

She gave him a dark look over her shoulder.  "Because it is a place of death to them.  They didn't want to frighten you with it."  She turned back to the altar.  "They underestimated you and in protecting you, they hindered your progress.  Your pain and inner war with your innate nature has caused you to grow more than anything they have done."

 

"Inner war?  Progress?"  Katsuya was confused and wary.  Hesitantly he stepped closer to the girl and took a deep breath, ready to ask what she meant, only to falter at the never-forgotten scent of flowers, sex and blood.  "You're the lady from before.  The one who gave us the vial to help my family."

 

"Yes.  I had hoped for more conflict with your family, so it would spur your development, but they fell in like sheep with the Upyri.  Free will is inconvenient at times."  She huffed out.

 

"Why are you helping me?  I mean if you are helping me."  Katsuya wasn't entirely sure she was, despite the lack of a bad vibe.

 

"You are very important to me, but you needed to reach a state of maturity and your growth was stunted.  I have been trying to dig you out of the mud for years now.  If your mother hadn't become frightened of you, jealous of you, none of this would have happened and you would have met your life partner as who you were meant to be and you would have known how to free the captives of darkness.  But because of her selfishness I have been reduced to this ridiculous subterfuse."  The girl sounded furiously angry, and Katsuya, who had drawn closer, took two steps back.

 

He didn't understand most of what she said so he asked about the one thing he did get. "My mother?  What did she do?"  She knew his mom?  Was she Ilati-Inu then?

 

"She thought you would usurp her position and she had preconceived fears about the duality of your nature.  It made her act in a way that jeopardized you, and by placing you in harm's way, jeopardized me and the one closest to me.  When things are restored to what they should be I will consider forgiving her."

 

Okay that made a little sense.  Not Ilati-Inu.  Taking a wild guess, he asked, "Ishtar?"

 

"Ishtar, Inanna, Astarte, they are the names I am called."  She shrugged slightly.  "For you I will answer to any of them, although they are not my true name.  Only other gods my know my true name.  Were you to address me by it you would burn to ash in a second."

 

"Ah, yeah, I'll pass on that then.  Ishtar is... well you know, Ishtar Ishizu is a sore subject for me.  May I call you Astarte?  Or Inanna?"  He asked hesitantly.

 

"Choose what you like.  When you call upon me again I will come."  She hesitated then turned to face him fully.  "Katsuya, I can only come to you once more before you reach the level you must for me to come to you freely.  When you call me, be sure of what you want from me because I will not be able to help you after that until you are fully aware and recognized in my temple."  She waved towards the giant door.  "There are answers, questions, and possibilities in that room of death.  To be free to find yourself, you must find at least some of those things."  On a hot breeze, scented with her unique perfume, the goddess vanished.

 

Katsuya stood for long moments staring at the doors.  He knew, absolutely, that if he took that step and went into that room he would be leaving behind what he had been before, the innocent child, the naif.  He would truly become a man because at the point where his hands touched the door, he would be choosing his own path, guided by the goddess, but by his own will, to move forward and accept her challenge.

 

He reached for the door and laid his hand on it, as if trying to see what lay beyond.  Seto was behind the door, Seto and a future he could only guess at.  Not in reality perhaps, but in a spiritual sense.  When he walked through that door he would be going to meet Seto.  Without another second's hesitation, he grasped the ornate handles and pulled.  And pulled.  "Well damn.  It's locked."  Letdown and relief cascaded through him.

 

Another voice, feminine and low, vaguely amused, said "You'll need the key.  You didn't think it would be as simple as that did you?  Nothing of value ever is."

 

Katsuya spun to find a woman, ageless and with a beauty that was harder to define and would be impossible to capture, standing regally behind him.  She smiled archly.  "Tiamat, creator goddess and lover of Inanna."

 

"Tiamat?  The one who Gilgamesh and Enkidu..."  He bit back tricked and defiled.  He didn't want to piss this lady off.  He could tell with one glance she had a wicked temper.

 

"Dumped?  Yes.  I didn't take it well when they dumped Inanna and myself in favor of each other once we gave them the secret to immortality.  We knew we were being used of course.  Humans use gods all the time, for power, for selfishness, for weakness, as someone to blame besides themselves.  They were exceptional lovers though and we hadn't had our fill."  She shook her head ruefully.  "We still miss them and talk about them in fact.  Where is she?  I tracked her to here, but now I can't find her."

 

"She?  Oh you mean Inanna?  I dunno.  She looked like a kid so I didn't recognize her at first, but her smell is distinctive.  Yours too, although you smell more like seawater and burning rocks, no offense."

 

"None taken.  What do you think everything on earth is made from?  Life came from seawater and the earth from burning rocks.  I would know, I created both.  A kid huh?  Well that means she is going to be up to mischief only a kid can get away with.  Nothing too serious then.  The key to that door is under the altar."  With a wave the creation goddess was gone.

 

With very deliberate strides, Katsuya retrieved the key and returned to the door.  He took a deep breath and inserted the key.  Releasing the air slowly, he turned the key and pulled the handle.  The doors swung open with ease, inviting him into a stygian darkness.  Another deep breath, and he stepped into the unknown.

 

There must have been a pressure switch, or perhaps a motion or heat sensor, because small wall sconces sprang to life along the walls, bathing the giant room in soft light.  His breath left him in a whoosh as he looked around.  Marble and stone boxes, large as beds, crypts he supposed, filled the room in neat rows.  At the base of each crypt was an engraved pedestal.  Curious and slightly afraid, Katsuya walked down a few rows, noting a few names, Ishtar Marik carved next to the words, Malik of Istan Malka Tribe.  Further on, Bakura Ryou and his chosen - Bakura, King of Thieves, Malka tribe unknown.  

 

On and on he read, names and lineage, his heart breaking.  Something he noticed though, was that many of the Malka had 'tribe unknown' listed.  Wasn't it possible, since they didn't know where the Malka came from that at least one or two of them had been like him?  Ilati-Inu?  For that matter, how had the Elder Advisor known that 'transforming' an Ilati-Inu would be easy?  They had to have done it in the past.  Where was the person who had been transformed?  He would ask the Elder when he saw the man again.  Although he didn't think it would be soon.  Solomon had his hands full with the tranformed Ilati-Inu.

 

Not that it mattered, because dead was dead, Katsuya supposed.  Seto had told him, but here he could see the proof.  These couples had died together trying to live together forever.  They had made the choice to risk it all in order to have it all.  It was a choice he had taken from Seto, and yet Seto had transformed him anyway, giving him the bite that would seal them together for always.  Seto had been within his rights to let him die, but instead had chosen to let him live.  It couldn't have been an easy choice, yet Seto had made it so quickly, without a single bit of remorse.  Katsuya would have known if Seto regretted transforming him, and not once had that feeling been present, even when Seto had been so hungry, so in pain.

 

Was that why the goddess had brought him here?  So he could understand that Seto cared for him?  If that was the case, then she had wasted one of her visits because Katsuya was fully aware that Seto loved him.  Katsuya's only ignorance had been identifying the type of love and need Seto had for him.  And he had learned that a while ago.  So unless the goddess wasn't able to read him, that couldn't be why she'd brought him here.

 

He rejected that idea.  Somehow he and the goddess were tied together.  She knew what he knew.  She had brought him here for another reason.  What had she said?  'Answers, questions, and possibilities.' He mused aloud.  'Well I got a couple answers, a shit load of questions, so where are the possibilities?'

 

As if in answer to his question, a light flickered in the furthest corner.  Katsuya nodded to himself, "Well I guess you're still watching if you can give me clues.  Thanks Inanna."  He addressed her openly, completely sure she would hear him.  Again as if in answer, the nearest light flared brightly for an instant.  Confident that he was reading the 'sign' correctly, he threaded his way through the stone boxes to where the corner light had changed.

 

Not a corner.  He saw that immediately.  An alcove, and not a crypt, not like the others.  If anything it reminded him of the glass casket in Snow White.  But instead of a single sleeping princess, two lifeless bodies, covered only by white Upyri wedding raiment, lay side by side, their hands entwined.  The pedestal at the base of the bed read "Atemu, King of all Upyri, and Moutou Yugi, of the Domino Malka Tribe."

 

They looked so alive, as if they would sit up and talk any second.  Unconsciously, Jou reached out and laid his hand on the thick glass.  Icy cold arrowed through him and he jerked back, cradling his hand against his chest.  "Damn it."  He cursed roughly.

 

"Don't speak that way in here.  It's disrespectful of the dead."  Noa's voice chided, unexpectedly.  Clutching his stinging hand to his chest, Katsuya spun around to find Mokuba and Noa standing just behind him.

 

"What the hell?  When did you guys get here?"  The blond gasped, still stunned and fighting to find his balance.

 

"We arrived in time to hear you curse."  Noa gave him a small smile as his blue eyes moved over Katsuya's body.  "We haven't seen you in a while, but you look good.  Katsuya, have you had a growth spurt?"

 

"Yeah, I needed to talk to Mokuba about that.  I have to go clothes shopping because these are the only clothes that don't try to rip when I wear them."  he answered distractedly as he reached out to touch the glass again.

 

"Oh!  I've been so busy I didn't notice.  I'm sorry Katsuya.  We'll go tonight.  I'm sure some of Seto's clothes will fit you while we go to the mall.."  Mokuba sounded hopeful and a little guilty.  "Let me put these flowers in this vase, and we will go find something in Seto's closet."

 

"Flowers but..."  Katsuya's protest was overridden by Mokuba's desire to make up for his neglect, and within a minute they were on their way back to the house, despite Katsuya's attempts to reach the glass coffin again.  

 

When the blond tried to turn back one more time, Mokuba sighed and stopped.  "Katsuya, I know what you are thinking, we all do when we first see them.  They are still alive.  They are not.  There is no breath or heartbeat.  After Yugi was attacked, he was badly injured.  The wounds disappeared during the first phase of the transformation and there was great hope, but in the second phase, he went as you just saw him.  Atemu tried, as all Upyri do of their Malka mates, to give him more blood, more Utu-Ina-Bau, another bite.  It ended with both dead, just as it has almost every single time before.  Atemu knew the risks, as did all the others.  They are dead Katsuya."

 

"I..."  He could feel the pain radiating from the younger boy and nodded.  "Okay Mokuba.  So, shopping.  I kinda wanted my first time to be with Seto, 'cause I think I could get him to laugh with some of the color and styles if I put them together right."  He shrugged slightly.  "Guess since he's with Ishizu it's not going to happen now.  Might as well get it done since I can't wear anything but these without it squeezing my privates."  He grimaced slightly.  "Biggest growth spurt wasn't some place you can really see in my clothes."  Mokuba and Noa chuckled all the way into Seto's room.  They didn't point out that his 'biggest growth spurt' was clearly visible in the too tight shorts.

 

Katsuya looked around the room he had avoided since the day Seto had left.  He had been tempted several times to sleep in the giant bed, but each time had changed his mind, at first sleeping on the floor in his studio, covered by a curtain he'd pulled down.  Then, after a week, a futon appeared, complete with blankets and pillows.  He hadn't questioned it, and he hadn't gone back to Seto's room.

 

Now, as he looked around, he asked himself why he hadn't.  There was nothing here to hurt him.  On the dresser was a picture of him and Seto at his first showing, and on the wall hung 'their' painting, the moon and sun, framed and protected by heavy glass.  The bed, which had always seemed like a haven, huge and warm, looked like an ordinary bed.  A tiny smile kicked up the corner of his mouth as he saw the weird snake spiral thing he'd made the one time he'd tried to work with clay.  It had been a disaster that had ended with Katsuya throwing the slimy, snakey mess at Seto.  Seto had caught it and carefully put it on the table to dry.  After it dried, even Seto couldn't think of anything to say, except to suggest that Katsuya stick to paint mediums.  Somehow the ugly thing had made itself to their bedroom.

 

And there it was, the piercing shaft of pain, right through his chest.  Their bedroom.  That was why he had avoided it.  Because Seto wasn't here, and without him, it wasn't theirs.  The smile trembled and his eyes misted.  He missed Seto so much.  He missed the mussy hair in the morning, grumpy when hungry, funny, teasing, loving of Kaiba Seto.  "I miss him."  Katsuya whispered rawly, his heart shattering.

 

Mokuba flinched from the blond's naked pain, guilt for his own happiness flooding through him.  He couldn't do anything, everything was up to Katsuya.  "Have you thought about it?  Are you in love with him?"

 

"I've thought about nothing else."  The blond confessed.  "Even when I was painting that was all I thought of.  Mokuba, it's not as simple as do I love him.  Of course I do.  But do I love him enough to be what he needs to make him happy?  I don't know.  I don't know if I can give him what he needs because I'm so screwed up about so many things.  You and Noa are happy, I can feel your love and happiness, but how happy would Noa be if you couldn't make love with him, if you didn't have the ability to enjoy being with him like that?"

 

When Mokuba looked at him with wide eyes, clearly unable to answer, Katsuya turned to Noa.  "That's why you were distant from him before, isn’t it?  You thought him too young.  You were protecting him."  

 

Noa nodded, biting his lip.  "Yes.  I knew physically he had reached puberty early; it was a trying time in a lot of ways.  He was a ten year old terror, all hormones and confusion, but emotionally he wasn't ready for more than friendship and guidance.  Sometimes I still think fourteen is too young because I am nineteen, but he is very persuasive and I sought guidance from the Advisors.  They gave their approval after several interviews with both of us."

 

"Fourteen?!  I thought you were eleven or twelve when we met."  Surprise made the golden eyes fly wide.

 

"My family doesn't put on height until we are about sixteen.  You should look at the pictures of Seto from before his last growth spurt.  We are almost the same height, and he had let his hair grow long like mine."  Mokuba chuckled and crossed to pull down one of the big, heavy albums that Katsuya had never taken the time to examine.  "I'll leave this here and when you want to check it out you can."

 

"Ah, how about we skip shopping and I check out the pictures now?"  Katsuya gazed at the book longingly.  Now that he knew it existed he wanted it more than he wanted his next meal.

 

Mokuba had already moved to the closet and was tossing out clothes.  "Nope, we are going shopping.  I've been trying for months to get you to spend some of that money you've been raking in from your art.  You're unbelievably, stupidly rich you know."  The younger teen added a pair of cross trainers to the pile.  In a show of mock greed, he rubbed his hands together and laughed wickedly, bringing smiles to Noa and Katsuya's faces.  "We will have to stop by and see Gozabuttface though.  Identification, credit and debit cards were issued in your name.  He's been holding them for you.  Get dressed.  I'm sure that stuff will fit.  A little tight, but that won't be bad thing.  Your ass isn't as bony as Seto's."

 

Katsuya, in the middle of sliding the pants on over his shorts, since none of his underwear had fit him properly, looked up with an arrested expression.  "I don't know what is more weird, Mokuba.  You checking out my ass, you checking out Seto's ass, or you admitting to doing it in front of me and your boyfriend."

 

"Life partner."  Mokuba corrected.  "I know what the Elders and Advisors think, that this is temporary and will die a natural death, but I know different.  Life Partner."  He glowered at Noa, daring him to argue.  

 

Noa simply smiled slightly and said "I think admitting it is the weirdest part because to be honest, we've all checked you guys out."

 

Katsuya grimaced and hurriedly fastened the tight, but not too tight pants and slid the shirt on, glad that it only skimmed his frame and rested below the curve of his butt.  Who knew if the two pervs would get ideas?  He probably shouldn't have voiced his thought because of course, it sent them both into gales of laughter.  Mokuba sputtering that Katsuya had 'sex on the brain.'

 

Mokuba and Noa went to get the car while Katsuya went in search of Gozaburo.  The older man had avoided the blond like the plague since their altercation over Shizuka.  Nobody really blamed him though, because Katsuya had been frightening even to the most stout hearted of them.  His golden lines, not just the scrolls and swirls, but underlying them had been the squares and rectangles of Seto's lines as well, glowing blue fire.  He had been terrifying, and not a soul would have stood up to him, except perhaps Shizuka, or Seto himself.

 

He found Gozaburo in the office Seto used when he was home and didn't waste time on pleasantries.  "I need my I.D. and credit cards.  Mokuba, Noa and I are going shopping."

 

The man didn't bother to argue, simply went to the safe and pulled out a leather billfold.  "There is some cash in it as well, for incidentals.  Your debit card has a two thousand dollar limit and your credit card has no limit.  It will be paid off as soon as the charges are made."  Careful not to touch him, the older Upryi laid the billfold on the desk and hurried back to his seat.

 

Suspicion reared up in Katsuya.  He didn't need his empathic abilities to know something was afoot.  Hate, rage, and fear roiled around Gozaburo, but surrounding it all was a sense of sly smugness, of satisfaction.  "What have you done?"

 

"Given you what you asked for.  I am busy, please go about your business."  The man hung onto his composure, but Katsuya could see that it was a struggle.

 

Fear for Seto rising, because what else would cause the asshole to be so smug?  The blond warned through gritted teeth.  "Seto had better be all right, Buttface, because if he's not there won't be enough left of you to burn."

 

The fear increased, but so did the smugness.  "Oh he's just fine.  More than fine, he's happy, healthy, and very well satisfied.  My nephew Ishizu has seen to that.  Enjoy your time here, I expect you will be gone soon."

 

"You think?"  Katsuya sneered mockingly as his heart clenched.  "Wow, and I thought I was the dumb one."  Without another word he scooped up the billfold and stalked out of the office.

 

The blond was still fuming when he slid into the waiting car.  Mokuba, after a quick look at Noa, asked hesitantly.  "What did he say to you?"

 

"Stupid shit.  He...."  Katsuya broke off and sighed.  "Is Ishizu his nephew?"

 

"Many times removed, but yes.  Why?"  But there was an odd note in the teen's voice, as if he knew the answer and dreaded it.

 

The empath shifted uncomfortably.  "He seemed smug.  Like he had a secret that was going to help him come out on top or something.  It worried me, because I know how much he hates Seto.  So I told him he'd better not hurt Seto or I'd kill him or something like that and he said that his nephew was making sure Seto was healthy, happy and very satisfied.  He meant... I know he meant sexually.  I didn't know him and Ishizu were related though.  Then he said to enjoy my time here because he thought I'd be gone soon.  It was like he was saying Seto would get rid of me because of Ishizu."

 

Mokuba sighed and instead of giving the blond the reassurance he clearly needed, the younger Kaiba opted for the truth.  "The Elders and Advisors have spoken to me Katsuya.  They want to know the state of your relationship with Seto.  They won't say, but I believe someone is making inquiries about the binding and legality of it because it remains unconsummated and you have yet to reciprocate Utu-Ina-Bau Nasaku.  I don't believe Seto is making the enquiries because I don't believe he would ever willingly give you up.  But that doesn't mean he can't be forced to give you up Katsuya.  He is King and he needs to pass that lineage on to more generations.  He can take breeders, but Seto is opposed to the breeder system.  A concubine may be the answer, but only a certain social caste may serve as concubines.  Ishizu is above that caste.  He is in the position to seek the Advisor's and Elder's approbation in setting aside yours and Seto's half-marriage to free him for a full partnership to himself."

 

The blond was silent for a long moment, then lifted rage bright eyes.  "So that was the plan all along.  Manipulate things to where he can get rid of me and become Seto's life partner.  One way to make sure Buttface stays in power."

 

"It's done all the time Katsuya."  Mokuba said softly.  "Gozaburo offered Noa to Seto remember?  He just stepped it back to Ishizu."

 

Noa coughed slightly.  "He is ecstatic that I am with Mokuba, already hinting that if Seto doesn't meet his obligations with Ishizu and dies childless, that I will be in position to be the new King's consort."  Bitterness tinged the blue-haired man's voice.  "He doesn't believe Mokuba will want me forever."

 

Mokuba snarled "Don't listen to him, don't let him get inside your head.  You know I have six lines.  I can safely have five children.  That is plenty Noa.  Do not do this to yourself."

 

"Yeah, don't let your dad fuck your head up."  Then something Mokuba said caught his attention.  "Six lines?  But I've seen Seto's, hell I share Seto's.  Why do you have so few?"

 

"Seto's birth parent was not the same as mine.  Seto's parents were an arranged marriage between first cousins of the royal line.  Seto's mother died in a boating accident and our father chose to have me with a breeder.  Something went wrong during my birth though and instead of transferring just one or two lines, all lines were placed in me."  His lips formed into a straight line.  "If we knew how to renew lines none of this would matter.  There was a time when the knowledge existed, but its secret died before the oldest Elder was born."

 

Katsuya couldn't hold back the cynical question, "Are you sure it's not like the Ilati-Inu?  Not forgotten, just withheld?"

 

"Too many Elders have gone their entire lives without mates Katsuya.  One would have renewed their line."  Mokuba answered flatly.

 

"Yeah I guess."  The blond head lowered in thought for a moment.  "What can we do to save Seto?"

 

"I guess that isn't the question Katsuya." Mokuba audibly gulped.  "The question is should we save him?  He might be better off if he... If you two aren't together, especially if you don't return his feelings.  Even if they decide to legally dissolve your partnership, they can't force him to join with Ishizu.  Even if Ishizu carried the heir to the throne they couldn't force it.  He would simply be lowered in status to concubine or breeder."

 

Katsuya wanted to bash his head against the window, but he refrained.  Instead he picked out the smallest annoyance.  "Damn it, everyone keeps calling Ishizu 'he' but in my head Ishizu is a bitch - a woman."

 

"You know all Upyri are born male, and the two Ilati-Inu females that were transformed are the only ones of their kind to ever exist.  Among ourselves, to ourselves, we use masculine pronouns.  We only address Upyri as female when they are in their female form around non-Upyri."  Noa reminded him.  "Do not be fooled into thinking Ishizu is a 'weak' woman.  ‘Bitch’ maybe, if by that you mean scheming and social climbing, but in no ways weak."

 

"Hell no, women aren't weak."  Katsuya agreed.   With a sigh he dropped his shoulders and hunched in on himself.  "How do I know?  Can I know?"

 

"Do what I said before Katsuya.  Test yourself with someone you are attracted to.  If you find yourself falling for that person then it would be best to let Seto go.  If you find yourself wishing Seto were there instead of them, you have your answer."  Mokuba turned around fully and faced him across the seat.  "I called Oonishi.  He agreed to meet us for shopping at the mall and dinner."  When he saw the horrified look in Katsuya's eyes, he said softly, "It's time to fish or cut bait.  You have to make a decision or it will be made for you."

 

"Like you made this one for me?"  Katsuya snapped bitterly.

 

"I didn't make it for you.  I made it for Seto."  Without another word the black-haired boy turned and faced the front of the car.  There wasn't any more to be said.

 

As a start to a first date, it sucked, so Katsuya didn't anticipate it getting any better.  He didn't count on the experienced wit and persuasiveness of the architect.  They had met several times and had a friendly rapport, but Katsuya had been largely blind to the man's charm.  Not so any longer.  When the older man's hand brushed his, he became aware of Nishi's attractiveness and 'hungry' feeling that radiated like a cloud from the man.  Almost without his realizing it, Katsuya began to lose his anger and enjoy himself.  A part of him still mourned his lost dream of holding Seto's hand and doing crazy things just to make the stoic brunet laugh, the part of him that existed in the now accepted and enjoyed the reality of being in the company of a fun, funny, man who was unexpectedly soothing.  At the end of the evening, of shopping, food, and surprising fun, Katsuya hesitated only a moment before accepting the offer of coffee the next afternoon, and after a few hours of casual, charming conversation had no hesitation at all in accepting a dinner date the next night.  As they parted at the restaurant, 'Nishi surprised Katsuya with a warm kiss directly on his lips.  That night, Katsuya lay on his futon and looked out at the stars as he made his decision.  A contented smile crossed his lips as he drifted off to sleep.  He gave himself a day of lazing around, poking at his choice, testing it from every angle before drifting off into another blissful night full of dreams of the future.  Then next morning he rolled over and picked up his phone.  He needed to speak to Nishi.

 

Nishi was happy to hear from him bright and early in the morning, even though Katsuya had spent the previous day ignoring his calls and texts, and after a few minutes of arranging his schedule, agreed to come over for lunch.  Katsuya wanted to give him a gift, one that was only possible to give in his personal studio.

 

A very wary servant showed Nishi into the room and then stood discreetly by the door.  "Ah, uhm, you can go now."  Katsuya told the servant.

 

"As you wish, Katsuya.  I will bring lunch up right away."  The man bowed and slipped from the room.  

 

He was immediately replaced by one of Katsuya's body guards.  "Uh, you need something Sora?"

 

"No, Katsuya-san, but I was ordered by Kaiba-san to stay by your side."  The man settled into a position that screamed he wasn't going anywhere.

 

"Ah well I guess if Mokuba says so."  Katsuya suppressed a chuckle at the younger Kaiba's antics.  "Nishi, come into my gallery.  I'd like to show you some of my newly framed work.  I don't think you've seen a couple of them."

 

Warm amusement and anticipation filled the older man's expression.  "I'd love to see them."

 

Katsuya held out his hand.  "Let's go."

 

Nishi took the offered hand with a smile.  "Don't you think you should call me Kaito when we're alone?"  As soon as they were out of the line of sight of the guard, Nishi bent and pressed a soft kiss on Katsuya's mouth.  This time Katsuya tilted his face to meet him halfway.

 

When the older man tried to deepen the kiss, Katsuya broke free with a laugh.  "Nah, but thank you for that.  You don't have to pretend you know, or put on an act.  I know all about you."

 

"What?"  Nishi laughed in confusion.  "What are you talking about.  Pretend what?  That I like kissing you?"

 

"Oh I know you do."  A small smile danced around the edges of Katsuya's lips.  "And I have to say being around you has been very relaxing for me.  I never figured out barriers you see.  It's such a relief not to pick up emotional static from someone."

 

That confused the man even more.  His laughter faded and his look became searching.  "What do you mean Katsuya."

 

"Ah nothing that would concern you, but then not much does truly concern you."  Katsuya smiled slightly.  "I owe you a debt.  Look around, pick any painting you like.  It's yours."  He gestured to the rows and rows of pictures.  "Go ahead, pick anything you like."

 

"Is... Is this a joke, Katsuya?"  For a moment greed shone plainly in the man's eyes, quickly replaced by uncertainty.

 

"Nah, I mean it.  I really owe you.  I didn't know how the emotions in this house were skewing my view on things.  When we went to dinner the first night I realized that your emotions were not reaching me.  The more time I spent with you the clearer my head got.  So I thank you.  I know that most people would consider your lack of true emotions as  something wrong with you, but to me it was a priceless gift.  I want to give you something you covet.  You've always only had one feeling around me that was genuine, a kind of hunger, but your kiss that night told me it wasn't sexual.  It is because you want something from me, and the only thing I have is my paintings.  I thought about it, and the first time we met, you didn't have that feeling until you saw my work.  You didn't show it but I could feel your hunger.  In exchange for what you gave me, you may have any one of them you like as a thank you gift."

 

"You mean this don't you?"  Nishi straightened and took a few steps toward the gallery.

 

"Yes, I do.  I'll recommend you to anyone who asks about an architect for their studio.  You've done wonderfully giving me exactly what I need to capture my visions."  Katsuya smiled warmly.  "I know that will mean more to you than any promise of friendship, so we'll leave it at that."  The sound of their lunch being delivered caught his attention.  "Do you want to eat?  Or would you prefer to take your painting and leave?"

 

"Katsuya what kind of man do you think I am?"  The architect whispered painfully.

 

"Oh I don't think you're a man at all.  I think that the humanity was ripped from you at some point, leaving you empty and dark.  I'm sorry for it, but I can't fix it and I am not going to try.  You wear a charming face, you know all the right words to say, you are everyone's dream.  That isn't because you are truly all those things, it is because you have nothing solid inside, so you slide from persona to persona with no true feeling, no true caring inside you."

 

"You believe I'm... that?  Some kind of hollow monster?"  More pain coupled with a thread of anger.  "If you don't want to see me again, just say so, you don't have to hurt me this way.  You don't have to buy me off with a painting."

 

"Oh."  Katsuya frowned slightly.  "I told you that you don't have to pretend with me.  I appreciate you the way you are.  But if your ego says you must play this part, then please leave.  Send me a note later telling me what painting you want."  With a small nod, the blond turned and walked back into his main studio.  "Oonishi-san will not be staying for lunch."  He glanced over at the architect as he stalked toward the door.  "And he will not be returning."  He waited for the other man to be completely out of earshot before saying softly, "Sora, you can go report to Mokuba now.  Tell him to join me for lunch if he can get away."  The guard flushed slightly and with a slight bow scurried away.

 

Katsuya didn't wait for Mokuba, instead he tucked into his blood red beef and sipped a goblet of warmed blood.  A rueful chuckle escaped Katsuya.  It seemed the cook was determined to remind him exactly who he was.  Such a feast wasn't for the eyes of normal humans so it probably was a good thing that Nishi didn’t stay.  Still snickering, the blond Upyri devoured both portions of the meal.  If Mokuba arrived, oh well, a little brother as smart as he was should know better than to leave Katsuya alone with that much food.

 

Replete and logy from the meal, Katsuya curled up like a big cat on his sun drenched futon and dozed.  On the edge of a dream, a bolt of cold so deep it felt as if it were freezing his very soul pierced him and he jackknifed up, wide awake.  "Cold!  Holy hell how could I forget?!  Cold!  Dead people don't feel cold!"  He moaned and yanked his hair in a frenzy before leaping off the futon, and ignoring the wide-eyed looks from the servants and guards, tore down the stairs and through the house to the giant mausoleum.  Without hesitation he grabbed the key from under the altar and opened the door.

 

He didn't pay any attention to the stone crypts as he ran to the glass enclosed bed.  The light was flickering madly on the wall and Katsuya took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Yeah, I got it."  He whispered.  The light didn't stop it's dance, instead it sped up.  A footstep behind him had Katsuya spinning around defensively.  "Oh, Nishi.  I thought you had gone."  The architect stood in the aisle just to the left of the alcove.

 

"I asked the guard to let me sit in the garden a few minutes.  He must have forgotten about me because he went to do something else.  Something about a meeting."

 

"Huh, weird.  They don't normally let people go around without someone watching them."  Katsuya smiled slightly.  "Guess it's okay.  What ya doing here? You followed me?  Did you decide what picture you wanted?"

 

"I wanted to talk to you more.  I... I don't understand.  I thought you liked me."  The older man stepped forward, into the alcove.  His eyes fastened on the glass casket, widening with shock and recognition.  "What the fuck?"  Genuine shock reverberated from him.  Katsuya looked over his shoulder.  Nothing had changed, so why was he staring at Atemu and Yugi like he'd seen a ghost - two ghosts?

 

"That's Son-Re Atemu  and Moutou Yugi.  They... They’re dead?"  Another genuine emotion, grief.

 

"You know them?  Knew them I mean?"  Katsuya was equally surprised.

 

"Everyone knows them - knew them.  Fourteen-Fifteen years ago they saved our city when one of the weapons developed by KC went off the rails.  You must have heard of it?!  They called it Battle City! When did they die?"

 

"I... I don't know for sure."  Katsuya said awkwardly but bells were going off.  He had heard of Battle City.  "Seto couldn't bear to bury them so he..."

 

More shock, more surprise.  "Son-Re Seto, that was the name of the kid who helped stop the weapon.  Seto... Kaiba Seto?  He's the kid isn't he?  The hero?"

 

"I think so."  Katsuya mumbled softly.  "I really don't know about it.  Nobody has ever said anything."

 

"You were too young."  Nishi acknowledged.  "You... You are with Kaiba Seto aren't you?  As a lover?"

 

"Sort of.  We argued but..."  Katsuya shrugged.  "But I don't want to give up."

 

"I followed you to seduce you."  The dark eyes flickered to the casket.  "I can't do that here.  I won't do that to the little boy who saved everyone when adults ran away screaming."  he drew a deep breath.  "No matter how empty I am, I am not that empty."

 

"I..."  The blond bit his lip.  "I am sorry Oonishi-san."

 

"No reason to be.  You are right, I am empty.  You were also right about the humanity in me being ripped out.  You see, I was one of the adults who ran.  I was nineteen, interning at Kaiba Corp and I ran!  I left a six year old boy to deal with a weapon that killed hundreds."  With a small bow, the architect turned and walked quietly away.

 

Katsuya waited until he heard the last of Oonishi's footsteps die away.  Another deep breath and he laid his palm on the glass.  Soul shattering cold gripped him, emanating from inside the glass casket.  With a low moan he jerked his hand away and stumbled back, falling against one of the crypts behind him.

 

He gasped painfully for several seconds, then realization hit him.  "I have to speak to Mokuba and the Elders!  The  Advisors should know, too.  Inanna!  Cold!"  Without thought for anything but what he'd just realized, he ran into the house, pounding up and down stairs, yelling for Mokuba, Gozaburo, anyone.

 

Gozaburo glanced around from the assembled Elders and Advisors when he heard Katsuya yelling.  "And there is the perfect example of his unfitness for the role of life partner to our King."  He lowered his head slightly.  "I could not have described it more clearly than this demonstration."

 

An elder statesman, one of the oldest, for all his youthful looks, tilted his head slightly.  "Perhaps before you say that, you should see what he needs.  It sounds very urgent."

 

"Everything is urgent for him.  He probably ran out of paint or broke a vase in a temper tantrum.  But I will bring him in and let him tell us himself, then you will see how ill suited he truly is."  Before Gozaburo could move to the door, it flew open with enough force to push it off the hinges.

 

"Buttf... Gozaburo, I need your help.  They're alive.  Or one of them is, or something.  I need... Tell me about the way the others were transformed.  Cold... Cold... Cold doesn't feel dead."

 

"Calm yourself Katsuya.  You are out of control.  Who is dead?  Who is not?  And what about transformation?"  Gozaburo's voice was calm and even, as if an adult humoring a disturbed child.

 

That tone, and its association from the past, brought Katsuya up short and he forced himself to focus, to think, not to react.  It was a monumental feat, and his lines gleamed with the effort, but in the end he calmed, the glow faded and he spoke quietly.  "Tell me about the transformation ceremonies.  It is vital."

 

"You've read all that is known and been taught all of the laws."  The family father reminded.

 

"Not the steps, not the history.  The environment.  Were they inside?  Were they where the sun could reach them?"

 

"Of course not.  Upyri eyes are sensitive.  To make the transition as easy as possible on the Malka they are transformed in a special chamber  where only light from candles is used, unless of course it happens outside the confines of a normal transformation."  Patience and condescension coated every word.  Katsuya ignored it.

 

"The ones who survived, they were outside the prepared chamber weren't they?  They actually got sunlight at some point didn't they?"  The blond asked tensely.

 

Gozaburo frowned and turned to look at the Elders.  "I'm afraid I don't know Katsuya.  Perhaps one of you does?"

 

The Eldest of all in the room, a stranger with long hair and gleaming golden eyes, nodded.  "I have documented each transformation in my lifetime, the failed and successful.  I have never tracked that aspect because it has always been assumed that sunlight is painful, if not harmful to Upyri, but the successes could have been outside a properly prepared chamber.  Given the quality of buildings in some eras, it's possible that there was sunlight let in due to poor construction.  It is possible that a chamber was disturbed or maybe damaged enough to allow in some sunlight. Why are you asking such strange questions?"

 

"Because it's called Utu-Ina-Bau.  The sun.  I know the teacher here told me that Bau was meant as a euphemism for happiness.  What if it's not?  What if it's literal?  'The lady who brings the dead back to life in the sun.'"  Katsuya held on to his patience by a thread.  He needed their help and he would not get it if he didn't keep his composure.

 

"It is an interesting theory, however, it is just that, a theory."  The elder lowered his silver head.  "It is a very exciting theory, the first new one we've heard in centuries, but it was no need to yell and scream like a child, Katsuya."

 

"That wasn't why I was yelling."  Katsuya sighed and caught himself tugging at his hair and lowered his hands.  "I was in the mausoleum the other day, reading the pedestals, and when I got to Atemu's and Yugi's crypt I felt cold.  Bone deep cold, a cold so deep it was like it could freeze my soul."

 

"It is a frightening place for a sensitive child such as you Katsuya."  Gozaburo mock soothed.

 

Katsuya was more than fed up with the family father’s patronizing ways.  "I am not afraid of dead things Buttface.  I know what death feels like.  It is a sucking emptiness that drains life away, leaving nothing but a void.  What I felt was cold!  I went just now to check it out because it was strange and stuck with me.  You know I'm an Empath, I feel what others feel and I was the only one in the crypt besides the so-called dead.  I touched Atemu and Yugi's casket.  One of them, maybe both, are not dead, but cold.  Whoever is still alive down there needs the sun."

 

"Your imagination is running away with you."  Gozaburo's voice was like a stern whip.  "Apologize to these gentlemen for daring to bring up such a thing and go to your studio."

 

"Are you fucking nuts, Buttface?  I tell you that you've probably buried your king alive and you send me to my room like I'm a delusional five year old?  Get bent.  If you won't help me I'll do it myself."  The disgusted empath spun and stalked to the door.

 

A voice spoke from directly beside him, "Do what Katsuya?"  The silver-haired elder asked quietly.

 

"Shit you're fast, faster than me or Seto, and I thought we were the fastest."  Katsuya gasped in shock.

 

"You get faster as you age.  I'm nearing the speed of light at this point."  The oldest Upyri joked.  "What are you going to do?"

 

"I'm going to bring them out into the sun of course."  Gold eyes narrowed, "Gonna stop me?"

 

"I could, never doubt it young one.  But in this case I want to see if you are right.  Atemu's return would be a great boon to our people.  Seto is suited to the business world, but not to our royal court."

 

"Well duh.  He might be a royal pain, but he hates being called ‘king’ and 'sire.'"  When the older man turned in the opposite direction of the crypt, the blond hesitated.  "Lost?"

 

"Not at all.  You are thinking of moving their bodies.  That would be a desecration warranting death.  However, if we walk along the wall until we reach the gold bricks and lift the earth, opening the top of the mausoleum, the sun will shine down on them without disturbing their vault or internment."

 

"Huh, didn't think of that.  Okay maybe you're not as dumb as I thought."

 

That surprised a laugh out of the elder.  "I haven't been called dumb in hundreds of years.  The last to person to call me that was my brother.  He told me if he and his mate didn't survive the transformation, that I wasn't to do something dumb.  He expected me to live and find the way to extend our line."

 

"Still trying?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Good."  Katsuya pointed.  "Gold bricks.  To mark where not to step?"

 

"You're not as stupid as Gozaburo says."

 

"Never listen to idiots."  The once 'slow' teen advised the elder, surprising another laugh out of him.

 

"You really are like my brother.  I hope you are right."

 

"I am."  Katsuya was never more sure of anything in his life.  "Should I get a shovel?"

 

The elder snorted and waved him back.  "According to your instructors you can move a few hundred pounds with your telekinesis.  Telekinesis is like speed.  Better with age."  With a wave of his hand a huge square of earth lifted up and away showing the top of the alcove where Atemu and Yugi lay in repose.  "Now to make a window."  Sharp movements, like the elder was wielding a blade and a square of heavy granite lifted away, revealing the inside of the crypt.  For the first time since the day of their burial, sunlight poured down on the pair.

 

Long minutes passed, minutes where the advisors, elders and all the household staff joined in the tense vigil.  After over an hour of watching, Gozaburo said disgustedly.  "Nothing, not a sign.  Now you all see what I was saying about this.  It cannot go on.  This travesty is..."

 

Katsuya hopped down and placed his hand on the glass and slowly, a smile crossed his face.  "They've been cold for years.  Give them a few more minutes.  They are nowhere near as cold as they were.  They should wake soon."

 

"Ridiculous.  Now it's not one but both?   Stop this game.  It's hurting everyone.  Just stop it Katsuya."  Gozaburo's voice was a hoarse sob.

 

Pegasus let out a small cry.  "No, look.  Yugi's chest!  He breathed.  I swear, by Inanna, he breathed."

 

"Your eyes and hopes fool you.  I beg you return them to their state of peace."  The elder Kaiba was openly sobbing.

 

"Maybe, but we will leave them in the sun until I am satisfied that it was a trick of my mind."  The old man lifted his head proudly.  "We will not discuss this with the King until it is definite one way or another.  We will not spoil his homecoming tonight with this.  You are all sworn to secrecy."  With a nod, he addressed the gathered group.  "Three guards will be posted here, rotating every four hours.  Two to witness and one as a runner, in case there is a significant change.  There will also be a supply of blood kept here, because if they wake they will likely be very hungry."  He shooed them away with his hands.  "You have a royal homecoming to prepare for.  Get back to work."

 

Katsuya grasped the other man's arm.  "Seto's coming home?"

 

"Yes, he and Ishizu are due to arrive from China in a few hours.  Mokuba has gone to meet them at the airport."  A smile crossed the man's ageless face.  "Perhaps you should read the newspapers.  It seems that something in them caused him to declare a family emergency and come back where he belongs."

 

"An emergency?  Is everything all right with the company?"  He asked worriedly.

 

"I've helped you quite enough for one day, young one.  Go read the newspapers and figure it out for yourself."  With that the Elder sat down cross legged in the grass and stared down at the pair in the glass coffin.  "Ah, and a breath for Atemu.  My brother used to call me eagle eyes, Katsuya.  Don't worry for them.  I'll stand watch. You have your own business to take care of, and despite this and my support, do not expect to win this war easily.  Gozaburo has some persuasive evidence."

 

"War?  What are you talking about?  What..."

 

"Go and think about it.  Ask the Goddess to help you."  A tiny smirk crossed the elder's lips.  "Your lines are distinctive, Avatar of Inanna.  The woman who I didn't dare to transform wore them with pride in her temple.  She was a sculptress."

 

"Ah, uhm... okay, I'll ask her.  Uh hey... I don't even know your name.  What is it?"

 

The man paused, then pushed back his mane of silvery hair and smiled slightly.  "Most call me Elder.  It has been so long that I had to think about it for a moment.  My name is Pegasus, Katsuya.  You may use my name, as did your many greats grandmother. I still remember her intoxicating golden beauty to this day."

 

"Uh, yeah, okay."  For the first time Katsuya realized he and the older man had similar golden eyes.  Was it possible?  Did he even want to consider it?  No!  No way was he going to go there.  No way in hell.  He had too much to worry about with Seto coming home for an emergency and Gozaburo scheming.  But his words gave his thoughts away as he darted off, "Thanks Ojiisan."

 

The old man smiled and shook his head.  "And they say he's stupid.  They are fools."  His golden eyes widened and started to shine as he saw Atemu take another breath.  This time the guard behind him saw it as well and let out a small sob of pure joy.

 

Katsuya ran back to his studio, grabbed his phone and dialed Mokuba's number.  Noa answered the phone on the first ring.  "Katsuya, we are on our way to pick up Seto.  Mokuba is an emotional wreck.  What do you need?"  His voice was tinny and distant, as if on speakerphone.

 

"Why the hell didn't he tell me Seto was coming home?"  Katsuya snarled

 

"You didn't answer your phone, and then you had a meeting with Nishi.  After the picture of that kiss in the paper I didn't think you would care."  Mokuba yelled over the top of Noa's more sedate "You were unavailable."

 

"Kiss?  In the paper?"  The startled man almost dropped his phone.  "What the hell?  What paper?"

 

"Every paper, Katsuya!"  Mokuba had obviously snatched the phone from  Noa.  "I told him you were going out with Nishi, but he thought as a friend. That kiss blew him away.  He said he was flying home to end this once and for all.  I don't know what that means, but Katsuya, he's bringing Ishizu with him, and I know Gozaburo was gathering the Elders for an appeal on Ishizu's behalf.  He's declared war Katsuya, and Seto is the territory he's claiming."

 

"War."  The blond rumbled.  "He wants to war with me?"  Abruptly he laughed.  "Don't worry Mokuba, I'll handle it."

 

He carefully closed the phone on the teen's sputtering questions and smiled viciously.  "Gotcha.  Avatar huh?  Innana, Goddess of Fertility, War, Love, and Sex, your avatar, your oracle, calls you."  When there was no immediate answer he smiled wider, "Ishtar, Astarte, we are bound, we are one.  Get down here, I need your help in winning this war."

 

Two women, both familiar, appeared before him.  "About damn time you figured out you were in a war.  Are you going to let that cross-dressing, two-legged kleenex win?"

 

"Oh hell no.  Ishizu will become a blood sacrifice to you both before he gets Seto."  Golden eyes gleamed with challenge.  "I don't know a damn thing about sex or seduction but I have all the love in the universe inside me, and it's all Seto's.  I got love covered, but I need the weapons to blow Ishizu out of Seto’s mind forever.  Can you two give me those weapons or should I hop on the internet and check out porn for a few hours?"

 

Tiamat dabbed her eyes dramatically.  "He does my heart proud.  You've done exceptionally well my darling.  He is going to be an awesome Avatar of War.  He is stupidly fearless."

 

"I know."  Inanna sounded smug.  "A little training and he'll be one hell of an Avatar of Sex as well.  He's already there with love.  Fertility, well, we will have to see.  Can't have too many little war mongers running around.  It stops being a purge of the old and creation of the new, and becomes petty."

 

"Geez! C'mon.  Before we get to the having babies can we just practice making them for a while first?"

 

"Sure, just letting you know not to expect more than fifty or so children."  She shrugged and grinned slyly at Katsuya's shocked look.  Her eyes sobered and her face became an ageless mask.  She held her hands out, white flames flaring up from from wrist to fingertip.  "Katsuya, Mate to Son-Re Seto of the Upyri Tribe of Domino, do you swear to obey me in all things?  Do you swear to heed my council, even if it should mean your death?  Do you bind all that you are into my keeping?  Will you trust me with your very soul?  If you do, take my hands."

 

Katsuya's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.  "What do I get outta the deal?"

 

A small, satisfied smile broke through the mask.  "In return I swear to never ask you for your heart or try to claim you sexually, I will never harm any of your family, I will forgive all trespasses.  I will give you all the weapons, power and knowledge at my disposal to win all wars, foreign, domestic, and personal."

 

"Hmmm, sounds like a reasonable deal, but I want one more thing.  I want your promise to help the Malka and their mates that are frozen in the mausoleum.  If they're dead, that's okay, I get you can't do anything for them, but the ones that may be revived, I want you to promise to help them."

 

"I will give you this, if you swear that you will agree to aid in all ways you can the Avatar for Tiamat - Goddess of creation.  They will not be a danger to you."

 

"Don't know who that is, but as long as they don't try to harm people I love, no problem." Katsuya lifted his hands and pressed them through the white flames.  There was a moment when fire and ice tore through his body, then abruptly the pain was gone and the flames flared high, licking across the ceiling and down the walls, circling the room, engulfing it in a searing white light.  Katsuya withstood it as long as he could, holding on to the strong hands of the goddess with all of his strength, but even his determination couldn't fight the power, and he fell, tumbling into a white, consuming hell.

 

He didn't know how long he was unconscious, but when he woke the sun was almost gone from the sky,  all around him, his studio appeared untouched, and warily he lifted his hands only to gasp in shock.  The symbol of Inanna, Goddess of War was burned into his left hand, while the Symbol of Inanna Goddess of Love was burned into his right.  He had asked Shizuka about Avatars and Oracles once, and she had explained that on acceptance of the position, the symbol most prominent to the role of the Avatar was burned into their hand.  She had only mentioned one symbol on one hand.  Two was incredible.  Closing his eyes he reached for her, where he could feel her waiting.  "Inanna, explain."

 

"It is self explanatory.  You'll figure it out as you go.  Now to equip you for joining your mate at his celebration.  It will begin shortly, and your enemy has been keeping him from you with tedious protocols where he must greet the elders and talk to his father.  If you are looking for a few blood sacrifices, I can name two who would make wonderful additions to my slave pits."

 

"Yeah, so can I, and I'll bet they are the same."  Jou muttered.  "But this time we will let Ishizu think he has won the battle.  This is war and you promised weapons.  Well?"

 

The Goddess of Sex chuckled richly.  "You will fight with the same weapons Katsuya, just more expertly wielded."  In an instant, his mind was pulled into Inanna's, and he was living, breathing, experiencing every sexual encounter the Goddess had ever had.  It was pure sensual overload, and he gloried in every second of it.  Not because he wanted to fuck all those people, but because the sensations, given and received, taught him more about sex and pleasure than he'd ever imagined.

 

His body was only good for so much of the overload, and after more time than Inanna thought he could withstand, the blond Avatar sank back into unconsciousness.  When he woke the second time, he found himself dressed in the wedding raiment of the Upyri - a braided gold belt that fitted over his hips tightly, woven onto sheer white silk that clung to his ass and fit around his groin like pants, then dropped to the floor in floating panels that split and flowed around his legs as he moved.  His chest was bare, but for the gleaming of rich, fragrant oil, and his hair had been smoothed back away from his face, held in place by a thick golden circlet.  His feet were bare, but as he stood, he heard the a metallic sound and looked down to see gold ankle bracelets with a single tiny bell.  "I look like some kind of harem dancing girl."  As soon as he said it an image of himself dancing for Seto filled his mind.  He knew the steps as well as he knew how to breathe, he could move his body in perfect time to any beat his bells chose, slow, fast, hard or soft.  Seto would watch him and imagine that beat.

 

"You didn't just show me.  I can do it.  You are awesome.  Thank you Inanna."

 

"Hurry, Katsuya, the feast has begun and the enemy has encroached on your territory too far.  He sits in your chair, at the side of your husband."  The Goddess's voice whispered in his ear.  Katsuya didn't need to be told again.  In a flash and chime of bells, he was gone.

 

He was standing just outside the grand banquet room - because where else would a welcome home feast be held? - when Pegasus tapped his shoulder.  "You have a plan?"

 

"Sure do.  I'm going to shove that spider out of my chair, climb on the idiot king's lap and finally make him my husband. And I’m going to look like a sex god while I do it.  Ishizu can rot in hell after that."

 

"That is probably the most direct way to handle it.” The Elder shook his head with an amused twitch of his lips. “But To let you know, Yugi and Atemu were both taking breaths, about one a minute, when the sun went down.  They stopped again, but I will be there at sunrise to watch them until they wake."  The golden eyes smiled warmly, and indicated the room.  "Go get your mate, Mago."

 

"Thanks Ojiisan."  Color tinted the blond's cheeks.  "You might not want to come in here.  It's gonna get adult rated."

 

"And I am not an ‘adult’, eh?  All right Mago.  I'll go to the Archive and see if I can find anything on what we've seen today."  With a chuckle and a small pat on the shoulder, the Elder moved away.  "Gambatte, Katsuya."  He hesitated a moment, then pivoted slightly.  "Sometimes, according an enemy attention in war gives them power, gives their weapons more teeth by letting them know they scored a hit.  You might want to think on that."

 

Katsuya's first impulse was to discount the advice, but as he stepped into the room and saw all the doubtful looks being cast towards Ishizu - for once in his masculine form - in what was traditionally Katsuya's chair right next to Seto - he understood exactly what Ojiisan had meant.  He'd known Ishizu was there, he'd been warned, but he hadn't known the potent effect of actually seeing the man right next to Seto would have.  

 

The confusion and uncertainty of the servants and guests was like a wave rolling around the room.  Ishizu was playing into it by leaning intimately close, speaking in low tones almost directly into Seto's ear.  The interloper looked like he had every right to be there, and since Seto hadn't protested or removed him, the confusion was magnified.  The image was a perfect weapon and Katsuya knew if he blew up or in any way drew attention to it, the weapon would draw even more blood.

 

He had several choices.  He could ignore the interloper, slide into Seto's lap and stake his claim, he could pitch a fit and knock the hell out of either or both of them, or any one of a dozen scenarios like that. He could dance - bring Seto to him using the same weapons that Ishizu had used to lead him away.  None of them felt right, felt like they resolved the issues and established Katsuya's place at Seto's side.  Seto had let Ishizu take that place, it was up to Seto to return it.  Only Seto could.  Of course, a little spousal prodding would probably help the process.

 

Set on his target, if not his actual attack strategy, Katsuya ignored the growing silence as people noticed him, and waded confidently into the war he intended to win.  Instead of calling out his normal greetings, he assumed his most regal expression and chose to exercise his royal privilege; he would greet no one until he'd spoken to Seto.

 

Seto was just glancing up from his 'intimate' discussion with Ishizu when Katsuya called out on a soft laugh, "Seto, enough is too much!  Always working!  You have finally come home and you're still hard at it."  From the foot of the multi-level table, the blond shook his head and wagged his finger in playful admonishment.  "How guilty do you want me to feel?  You leave to promote my work for months and months, with no rest, and at your welcome home banquet you're still talking to the curator.  The tour is over!  Now is not the time for work."  Katsuya smiled with just a tantalizing hint of descended fang and small sexy shimmy that had more than one set of eyes widening.  "You have more important things to see to."

 

Still moving as gracefully as a lion  hunting on the savannah, Katsuya stalked his quarry around the segment nearest the King's raised section, and climbed up the stairs to the highest dais. He stopped when he stood beside his husband's right shoulder.  "Ishtar-san, I appreciate your dedication to your job and my art, but you must need a break, too.  Please rejoin your own family and enjoy your visit before you have to return to your home."  The blond's smile was warm, friendly, but it held all the the authority of the lord of the manor.  This was his place, he would not yield it.

 

Ishizu frowned briefly, as if unsure of who Katsuya was, then turned to Seto.  "Seto I..."

 

"No, no."  Katsuya interrupted gaily.  "Work is not allowed at the party our people have worked so hard to arrange.  Now go on, your family must have missed you as much as I missed my Seto."  Golden eyes turned to meet blue for the first time in months.  "Don't you agree, Seto?  You both deserve breaks."

 

"I was just telling him that he should go to his family and relax."  Seto nodded, his eyes narrowing slowly as he took in the changes, physically and mentally that Katsuya was showing.

 

"There, you see!"  Katsuya turned away from the assessing gaze of his husband and smiled triumphantly.  "Ishizu, it is an order from your king.  You are dismissed.  Return to your family."  It was said playfully, cheerfully, and could have easily been mistaken as a joke, but to Ishizu and several other's listening, it was a Royal Dismissal.

 

Ishizu rose slowly from the chair he had slid into when he had sought out Seto to discuss his role now that they had returned to Domino.  In truth, Seto had just suggested he go to his seat when Katsuya had called out.  It hadn't been a dismissal, Ishizu was sure of that, not at that time, but after Katsuya had arrived and delivered a flawless performance of friendship and spousal admonition, when both of them had been anticipating a screaming tantrum much like they had endured when they left, the suggestion had changed, at Katsuya's instigation, into a Royal Dismissal.  Katsuya had changed and Seto was responding to those changes.  

 

Ishizu forced a laugh.  "You are right of course.  The King and I have had many opportunities to talk.  I'm sure you must have missed him.  He and I will talk again later."  He gestured to the chair.  "I always enjoy talking to Seto."

 

Katsuya smiled sunnily.  "I understand why he had to go but he won't need to in the future. I've learned enough now that such a separation won't be necessary ever again."  A light laugh.  "I missed him in our bed."

 

"I'm sure he missed cuddling you too."  It wasn't much of a parting shot, but it was all Ishizu could think of and gracefully he strode away from the high table.

 

Katsuya turned and smiled directly into Seto's eyes.  "Welcome home, Husband.  I've missed you."  His voice was pitched  for everyone in the room to hear.

 

"Thank you, Katsuya."  Seto didn't return the smile, but his eyes didn't look away either.  "I've missed you too."   Seto's voice carried just as well.  With manners not normally seen in their society, the king stood and with an elegant flourish ushered Katsuya into his seat.  There was a heartbeat of silence, then smiles and laughter returned and the tense atmosphere faded like smoke from the candles.

 

"You've changed Katsuya.  Grown up."  Seto observed softly, his voice barely a whisper, watching his almost-mate closely as the gorgeous blond sipped from a goblet.  The blue eyes roamed over the changed appearance of the blond with appreciation.  "You look good, almost too good to be true.  What happened?"

 

Katsuya took his cue from Seto, realizing they were in a very public place and that they must show unity.  If he blew it now he might as well give Seto to Ishizu with a bow.  Seto obviously wanted to talk, maybe he needed to, but he also needed to maintain his status.  That was understandable.  If those were the rules Katsuya had to live by to win Seto, he'd abide them.

 

With a small smile he placed his empty goblet on the table and scooted closer.  "Like what you see, Kaiba?"  With a small, wicked wink, he added, "I can tell you do.  Good, I’m glad since you could say it's all because of you." He signalled a passing servant, smiling his thanks when his goblet was refilled with warmed blood.  "I needed something to advance.  I was happy with what I had, so I stopped in place.  I needed a reason to move ahead."  Katsuya whispered, trailing his fingertips across Seto's hand.  

 

"You've found a reason?  Oonishi?"  Anger flared deep in Seto's eyes, making the blue darken dangerously, but his voice stayed low, intimate, for Katsuya's ears only.

 

"He helped."  Katsuya allowed casually, leaning close and brushing his lips against Seto's cheek with genuine affection.  He had missed the other man so much.  The touch told him what he wanted to know about what Seto was feeling and deep inside happiness started to fizz.  Seto's hunger was back, stronger than before, and with it a darker emotion that the empath recognized as jealousy, bone deep jealousy.

 

"I saw in the papers how he 'helped' you."  The anger deepened to rage but the king's voice stayed almost inaudible.  "Did you forget you are my life partner?"

 

"I smelled Ishizu on you when you left - after not coming home the night before - so you obviously forgot first."  Katsuya gave a passing servant a nod and his plate was filled with rare beef.  When the servant moved out of earshot, he fired a shot across Seto's bow.  "Not that you bothered to tell me we were mated in the first place."

 

"I've never kissed Ishizu."  Seto hissed.  He deliberately didn't address the rest of the accusation.  All motion in the room stopped and the straining ears perked up.  Seto shook his head and glared, before pointedly picking up his goblet and taking a deep draw.

 

"You fucked him without kisses?  Never thought you were a selfish lover.  Foreplay is fun Seto."  Katsuya mocked in an undertone, not believing his husband in the slightest.  Clicking his tongue slightly, he promised, "Don't worry, I'll teach you."  He offered with a soft look and low, purring laugh that had the tension in the room dissolving again.  If Katsuya was laughing like a sex kitten everything had to be alright.

 

"Teach me!  What could you... Unless you...Katsuya!  You wouldn't do that, tell me you wouldn't do that."  Seto's eyes were wide with a mix of pain and disbelief and his voice became a soundless thread that if Katsuya hadn't been listening for would have been lost in the surrounding clink of dishes and chatter.  "Ilati-Inu mate for life."

 

He couldn't let that pass.  Carefully he cut two slices of meat and picked up one, offering it up lovingly. After the briefest hesitation Seto accepted the tribute.  Katsuya had wondered what this kind of romantic stuff was like, and despite the gravity of the conversation, Katsuya was loving every minute of it.  "But I'm not mated am I?  And I didn't know that I was half-mated until Mokuba told me."  Delicately, Katsuya speared the second piece of meat using the same fork and slipped the morsel into his mouth, savoring the taste of rare meat and Seto.  "Mmm, delicious."

 

"I didn't want you to feel pressured."  Seto admitted on a low breath of air.  "You were so unaware, so sweet and innocent, like a child.  I didn't want to tarnish that.  I felt like a pedophile half the time just being around you."

 

Golden eyes cut sideways to the Advisor next to him who was practically panting in his ear.  "Did you need something?"  Katsuya raised his voice to ask politely.

 

Hastily the man sat back in his seat.  "No, no.  I just wanted to welcome Seto home."  The older man smiled and nodded.  "But you two are just newlyweds and were enjoying your reunion.  I apologize for interrupting."

 

Seto nodded, "We are being rude, but it's been so long, please understand."  Seto dismissed the man and turned back to Katsuya, bending his head slightly to get even closer.

 

The older man took the opportunity to stand, and with a low bow, left the table, pulling his life partner with him.  On Seto's side his second advisor did the same, leaving Katsuya and Seto alone at the highest table in the room.

 

Katsuya gave him a tiny smile and tilted his head up so their lips were almost touching as he whispered, "So you went off and fucked Ishizu, but you didn't kiss him."  Katsuya nodded agreeably and picked up his goblet for a small sip, then offered it to Seto, who automatically leaned in to take a drink.  Katsuya licked a tiny drop from the corner of Seto's lips and stayed only a breath away from a kiss.  "Gotcha.  You didn't want to tarnish me so you betrayed the vows you made to me, lay with someone else, left me alone for months, and now, when you believe that I've betrayed vows I never made, you come running home, angry and jealous.  I'm grateful Seto, really, I am.  Your tender loving care of the last few months helped me to grow."  

 

"Katsuya, it wasn't like that."  Misery and fear were starting to roll off Seto in waves.  Satisfaction curled in Katsuya's belly.  A miserable and scared Seto would never pull this kind of stunt again.  Katsuya assessed his love's feelings and decided he would would turn the screws a bit more, then be gracious about forgiveness.  Part of winning the war was making sure to set up borders around your territory that nobody would dare cross - not encroaching enemies or citizens in revolt.

 

Slowly, gently, he stroked the side of Seto's face with a steady hand before laying his cheek along side his love’s.  Tenderly he crooned, "It's strange Seto, when I created our painting - you remember it don't you? - I was the moon and you were the sun.  I felt so distant from everything, existing only in darkness, pulled between the earth and the sun, opposing forces ripping at me.  Now, I don't feel that way at all.  So again, I have to thank you for freeing me of the earthly bonds that chained me."  Quickly, as if embarrassed by what he said, Katsuya jerked back away from Seto and made a show of picking up his silverware.  Glances from around lingered on him with sympathy.  The king wasn't looking pleased and Katsuya was obviously nervous, perhaps even frightened.  It was exactly the picture Katsuya wanted to convey.  Ishizu wasn't the only one who could manipulate a visual image.

 

When there was no answer from Seto, Katsuya darted a quick, anxious look at the brunet and reflexively took a bite, savoring the drops of blood that slid down his throat and the silky texture of almost raw meat as he chewed.  When the silence had gone on longer than he was comfortable with, he coughed slightly and mused in a low murmur, "Perhaps I should thank Ishizu too.  Maybe give him a painting as a gift."

 

There were a few more moments of silence between them, then Seto leaned close, pressing his lips against Katsuya's ear and whispered softly,  "What are you now?  If not the moon, if not chained to the earth and sun, what are you now?"

 

Seto's fear was uppermost, drowning out the jealousy, and as much as it satisfied Katsuya to know Seto cared that much, he wanted the happiness of his Seto back.  The boundaries were clear and he was sure that Seto would never cross them again.  It was time for healing.  to explain it all and let his love know that his feelings were returned.  "I'm still the moon Seto, but instead of suspended between you and the earth, I'm hurtling towards you at light speed.  I expect you to catch me and never let me go, because you won't get another chance.  If I fall through your fingers I will burn into ashes, taking you with me."  Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard Inanna laugh and crow proudly, 'That's my boy!' before she faded away.

 

Katsuya didn't need her voice ringing in his head to tell him he'd just won the war.  The pain, need, and hope he could feel surging through Seto told him more clearly than anything else ever could.  Katsuya allowed his war face to drop and gave his love, his true love, a bittersweet smile, then dropped his golden head to Seto's chest, confessing in a desperate whisper. "When we met I was too young to understand.  I pretended to know much more than I actually knew.  I really was a little kid pretending to be a grown up and covering my mistakes by acting like a clown.  I know the why and the how of it now, and I'll explain it to you as time goes by, but I want you to know that I really meant what I said, I needed what you did, leaving like that, even with him, to jump start me into becoming what I am supposed to be.  I hated it at the time, still hate that he was your lover, but I know it was necessary, kind of like knowing you need a forest fire to burn away old growth.  Remember; we talked about that before."

 

"I do.  Katsuya it really wasn't..."  Seto's lips nuzzled into his hair.

 

"Shh... Let me get it out, then if you still want to tell me about it, I'll listen.  After you left, it was like a bomb went off inside me.  Physically I only gained a few inches in height but emotionally and mentally I leapt over years.  I still have academic gaps, but I promise you I am not a simple-minded, innocent child any longer.  I'm not pretending to be an adult any longer, either.  This is what I truly am, Seto."  The smile faded and sadness took its place.  "It was a lot to absorb, and I was confused.  Mokuba called Oonishi, thinking it would help end my confusion.  It did, but not in the way your brother thought it would.  Oonishi is a sociopath.  He has very few true feelings.  He was very helpful simply because he didn't overload my emotions with his, and in fact, as with all voids, he attracted a lot of the random stuff to him.  For the first time since we came here, I was able to think clearly, to feel just my own emotions  Everyone here treated me as a child and I absorbed that, falling into their expectations without even realizing it.  I was happy as a child, so why not stay that way?  I had you, I had my art, and I was completely oblivious to what I was actually feeling.  When I was with Oonishi, the blinders fell away.  When he kissed me that first time, I was completely repulsed.  I had thought he was good to look at, considered biting him a few times when I was hungry and he was around, so I thought that was attraction.  It wasn't.  It was the empath in me appreciating his lack of emotion.  He's a very restful person for me."

 

"He kissed you more than once?"  Trust Seto to focus on the least important fact of everything Katsuya had told him.

 

"This morning I allowed him to kiss me before I told him I wouldn't see him any more.  It was a final selfish indulgence of my desire to avoid taking responsibility for myself.  I realized he was a danger to me Seto, to us, because he appealed to my lazy side.  If he was around I wouldn't need to learn to build my barriers against other people's emotions.  He is very acquisitive and wants to own any part of me he can.  I gave him a painting as a goodbye present, but if I hadn't been hardline about never seeing him again, he would have tried to come between us, simply because he wants to own me.  It would have been too easy to let him close, because he is a handy buffer and a lazy way to avoid the emotions that beat at me all the time."  A wry smile edged Katsuya's lips.  "I really am lazy Seto.  I'd rather curl up in the sun and let someone else do all the work.  Only reason I worked so hard for my family was because they were lazier than me, and I owed them."

 

"This place stifles your emotions?  You have problems here being just you?  Yugi had never said anything, so it never occurred to me that you would have issues here."  Seto frowned.  "We will build a new home, just for us, no emotional spillage."  Again he focused on the trivial aspect, and Katsuya realized that something was bothering his love.  There seemed to be doubt about something growing, smothering the hope and light of happiness that had glowed briefly.

 

"I don't think we'll have to do that.  I'll work with Pegasus.  I believe he may know more about it."

 

"Pegasus?  Pegasus has returned?  Why was I not informed?"  Seto jerked as if he'd been shot and Katsuya tumbled face first into the king's lap.   Katsuya felt a wave of anxiety wash over Seto as a stunned silence filled the room, followed by a roar of approving laughter as everyone saw Katsuya's position.

 

Katsuya felt Seto's jolt as his body surged to life.  Even that very interesting physical response wasn't enough to distract Seto from the happiness stealing doubt and surging worry.

 

"What?  Why?"  Katsuya didn't fake his blush or frown as he sat up and pointedly moved back into his own chair. Despite the happiness and hope that had risen, worry and doubt remained and Katsuya couldn't puzzle out exactly what was holding back Seto's happiness.  His empathy only told him what people were feeling, not why they felt it.

 

"Pegasus is the oldest living Upyri.  He has been alive for half of our history.  He comes for only one purpose.  To name the King and his Royal Successor.  His arrival usually heralds an announcement of change in the Royal Family."

 

"Only two ways to do that, right? A new king because the old one is gone, or a new crown prince is born.  I guess that means we're going to have a baby soon because you aren't going anywhere without me any time soon, and I have it on higher authority that I will live a long, fruitful life.  Fifty or so children."  Katsuya smiled smugly and wrapped his arms around Seto's neck in a tight hug.  "Did I tell you that I love you yet Seto?  That I loved you first as a child, then a friend, and now as a man?"

 

The sudden declaration, so longed for, coupled with the hug, knocked all thoughts of Pegasus from Seto’s mind. For a moment, Seto's arms closed around him fiercely and joy like Katsuya had never felt cascaded through Seto.  Then the other emotions ebbed, the doubt rose once more, and Katsuya found himself once more in his own seat.  It took all his will to focus on what Seto was saying, when all he wanted to do was fling himself forward and feel that joy again.  “Katsuya, are you sure you're not just picking up on my feelings for you?  I... I want to believe you, more than I want anything in the world, but I can't.  It's too sudden, too unexpected.  You said you've acted the way people expected you to act without knowing you were doing it - and at the expense of your own feelings - in the past.  How do I know you aren't doing the same thing now?  You know, you have to, that I am in love with you.  How do I know you aren't just absorbing and  reflecting back what I feel."  Seto drew a ragged breath.  "You have to be sure Katsuya."  Although he had returned the hug, Seto's hope and doubt were still at war with each other, and Katsuya finally understood exactly how much pain his earlier blind selfishness had caused his life partner.  Seto had plenty of reason to doubt and precious little proof that he should trust.  This was the issue holding back their happiness but before Katsuya could rush into thoughtless reassurances, Seto added softly, "If I had you and you changed your mind, I think I would be the one burned to ashes."

 

Katsuya closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly.  "You need proof.  Time will give you that, and we have long, long lives ahead of us, but that isn't enough, not now.  Seto, what will prove to you that I..."  He broke off when Seto turned away to gaze out at the celebrating people around them, his expression set with resolve.

 

For a moment the blond considered demanding an answer, then realized that this, in itself, was a test.  Could he figure it out?  Was he adult enough to reach a resolve that would give Seto what he needed?  Did he love Seto enough to find a way?  The answer was yes, of course, but how to show Seto that?  Images of their time together, of Seto's love and patience, of his ever-present hunger, and finally, his walking away played through Katsuya's mind.  "Ah, I see."  Katsuya stood up and gently touched Seto's shoulder.  Patient blue eyes looked up at him, silently waiting for whatever Katsuya had chosen.  "Let's go to our room, Seto.  I can't give you proof here.  I'm not that kinky yet."

 

Seto stood slowly and cleared his throat, bringing all noise to a halt and all eyes to them.  "Katsuya and I have things to discuss privately.  Mokuba move up to this table please?  Bring your consort with you to head the royal table.  Everyone else, please enjoy the party."  He bowed slightly, as did Katsuya, and they left the room together.  Katsuya looked at Ishizu from the corner of his eye and flicked his rival a small sneer.  Let him glare and gnash his teeth.  After Katsuya proved that his emotions were genuine, the scheming female wannabe wouldn't even be a memory.

 

In their room, Seto stepped away from him, standing next to the bed, still watching him with patient eyes.  Try as he might, the only thing Katsuya could feel from him was hope and doubt.  When the silence stretched on for more than a moment, Seto prodded, "Well, aren't you going to ask me what I want?  What you have to do to prove it?  What 'act' you have to perform?"

 

Katsuya didn't even try to hide his laughter at that.  "Fuck no, I'm done asking you for anything."  In a flash, Seto was on the bed naked, sprawled beneath a very determined blond, his clothes in tatters on the floor.  "You asked for proof that what I feel is real, well here it is.  I'm done pussyfooting around, tired of worrying about what you want, fed up with being what everyone else wants.  I'm gonna show you what I want and you can take that for your proof or not, but I'm not worrying about your feelings any more.  Give me your neck Seto.  I'm through with being a half-husband."

 

When the brunet hesitated, Katsuya, in a gesture almost exactly like the one Seto had given so long ago, brought his hands up to rest lightly on Seto's throat.  "Look at me."  The blond avatar whispered softly. When their gazes met, he smiled slightly.  "I am Katsuya, you are Seto, and I am not your slave.  I will never be your slave."  Recognition and joy lit the blue depths and before Seto's eyes closed and he arched his neck up in submission, Katsuya lowered his mouth down to the pulse hammering in the hollow of Seto's neck and sank his fangs deep into the vein, adding a few drops of his personal essence to Seto's circulating blood, drawing the taste of his life partner inside, imprinting it on his heart and soul.  Because he had missed Seto so much, and because he was finally taking what he truly wanted, he drew some of the deep red, powerful liquid of Seto into himself before carefully withdrawing his fangs, sliding them easily back into their slots at the base of his incisors.  

 

Elated, shaking, and breathing hard from the orgasmic bliss of tasting Seto's still pulsing blood for the first time, he leaned back to gaze at his life partner's face.  Seto's eyes were closed, and his parted lips were curved in a soft, sensual smile.  "I'm gonna say how I feel, and this time you better not doubt me."

 

Seto's voice was low, and rumbling, almost a purr.  "I don't think I'll doubt anything you say ever again."  Blue eyes, hazy and warm, opened and sought his.  "Thank you."

 

"Eh... Welcome.  Seto, you know I love you right?  You could feel it when we shared our Bite.  I know I could feel and see what was in your heart.  I... it's mutual, I feel the same."

 

Lazily, Seto's arms reached up and pulled Katsuya down and strung kisses from chin to collarbone, then back up to the hollow of his neck.  "Let me see."  And without warning sunk his smaller, equally sharp teeth into Katsuya's vein.  After a few seconds where their hearts beat as one, and a delicate sip of Katsuya's hot elixir, he withdrew and retracted his fangs.  "Hmmm... I think you need to prove it Katsuya, I'm not convinced."

 

For half a second, he was outraged, then he caught the teasing spark in the back of Seto's blue eyes.  "Really?"  Blond brows peaked with interest.  "I'll just have to try something else then."

 

"Want some advice?"  Seto offered archly.  He did have a little - not much - more experience.  After all Ishizu had given him a combination hand and blow jobs to ease his 'needs.'.

 

"No thanks." Golden eyes raked over his sprawled body with pure lust.  "I got it covered.  Besides, I've told you, I'm gonna do what I want and you're just going to have to deal, 'cause I'm done with asking you and worrying about what you want."

 

"Is that so?"  It was Seto's brows that lifted.  "Well, in that case."  He sprawled back, relaxing onto the soft bed.  "Do your best, but when you get stuck, you're going to have to ask nicely, say please and thank you."

 

"Huh.  Well you can forget that so don't hold your breath.  You'll need it for screaming my name."  Smug certainty and heat lit Katsuya's golden eyes, turning them to a bright flame.

 

"Awfully sure of yourself for someone who’s never even cum."  Seto taunted.

 

"Hell Seto, I've cum twice in the last fifteen minutes.  Ever since I figured out what I was feeling, I've jacked off at least five times a day."

 

Seto had consciously fought the urge to check Katsuya out in his tempting wedding outfit, trying to keep his composure and finish their important discussion before being seduced into bed.  Now that there was no need to resist, his eyes dropped convulsively to look at Katsuya's sheer silk covered groin.  Sure enough a large wet stain spread across the top.  The penis that had been childishly small the last time he'd seen it, was standing fully erect, with only the thinnest silk covering it.  Mouth watering at the thought of everything that straining silk promised, Seto croaked, "I thought you said you only put on a couple inches.  That's a lot more than a couple inches, Katsuya."

 

"Yeah, I think most of my growth spurt went to my dick.  It takes two hands to hold it now when it gets hard instead of a couple fingers."  The blond smiled with wicked intent.  "All the better to fuck you with, My King."

 

"Huh rem..."  His taunt was cut off by the soft press of Katsuya's lips on his own in a sweet, tentative touch that was unlike anything either had ever felt before.  The light touch deepened as they explored each other's texture, each finding the warmth and softness a revelation.

 

Katsuya had experienced what Inanna had given him, but he realised with just that simple touch that he knew everything - and nothing..  Orgasms, kisses, pleasure to bend the mind and captivate the body were just the beginning of his sexual skills.  He could recreate it all, but none of it  would ever compare to the way touching Seto with just the simplest kiss felt.

 

The mix of Seto's personal flavor -  Salt, spice, blood, lust and love were unique and addictive - nothing in his vast knowledge was a millionth as arousing to his body or satisfying to his heart. Knowing how to kiss was empty in the face of kissing His King.  The most sensual sounds on earth were nothing compared to the small catch of Seto's breath, the deep rumbling moan, and the sudden hard thud of his heart.

 

Katsuya found himself deepening the kiss, parting his lips to slip his tongue into Seto's mouth and twine with Seto's, stroking and thrusting hesitantly, then gaining confidence as his love responded by opening wider and meeting his advances with his own.  With a low moan, he pressed harder.  With all of his knowledge, why hadn't he realized that his empathy would enhance this?  He could feel his own pleasure, his love and desire, and he could feel Seto's.  Eager for more, he slid his hands up and buried them in silken chestnut locks, changing the angle of his head slightly to delve deeper, taste more, take everything Seto wanted to give him.

 

The slim strong body beneath him arched up, trying to get closer, eager for more.  Reluctantly Katsuya broke the kiss and slid down, running his hot mouth down the elegant arch of Seto's neck, stopping to draw deeply on the pulse point, biting lightly, teasingly, careful to not break the silky smooth skin.  A shiver of pure pleasure and anticipation raced through Seto, echoing along Katsuya's nerve endings.  Seto wanted him to draw blood and Katsuya wanted it too, but not yet, not until they wanted it with every cell in their bodies.  Another bite on that tender area, harder, more promising, and Katsuya moved lower, worshipping every inch of skin his lips touched.

 

He was delighted to find Seto's nipples were more sensitive than his own.  The small pale pink nubs hardened and swelled slightly with the attention he gave them; tasting as sweet and delicious as the berries from his garden and the gasps and moans that highlighted the pleasure Seto shared with him made him more than content to savor the richness of their taste and feel.

 

When he skimmed his hands lower, trailing questing fingertips through the dense halo of hair at the base of Seto's cock, Katsuya felt a trickle of uncertainty from Seto.   Deliberately he shifted his touch higher, running his fingers along the sensitive hollow and curve of the narrow hip bone before sliding down to tease lightly at the crease of Seto's thighs.  Slowly he drifted down, tracing lightly defined pecs and ribs with his tongue, and as he slid lower, small stinging bite-kisses around the firmly muscled abs.  When his lips brushed the head of Seto's cock, his love's twin reactions, intense pleasure and a stab of fear, made Katsuya lift his lips away, and draw back.  "Seto?  You still with me?"

 

Mutely, Seto nodded, but his eyes were closed tight and the fear was winning.  Katsuya nuzzled his face into Seto's flat belly comfortingly.  "Eh, okay I was just going to give you the best blowjob in the universe and you're acting like I'm about to kill you.  What's up?"

 

"Ah..."  Seto bit his lip slightly.  "Can we skip that?  I really don't like my dick bleeding."  Katsuya’s fangs were huge, much larger than his own.  Sex had a habit of making them extend.  Seto didn't want to lose more of his dick than he had to.

 

"Bleeding?  What the hell?  Seto I want to suck the cum out of you and make you scream in pleasure, not bite it off.  I won't hurt something that's gonna make me feel great."

 

Color flooded Seto’s cheeks as a wave of chagrin washed through him and over his empathetic lover.  "Ishizu tried several times and I always ended up bleeding while he apologized or gagged and heaved."

 

Katsuya smiled slightly.  "I won't if you don't want me to, but, I can promise you if you feel my teeth, you will enjoy it very much."

 

That didn't reassure the brunet much, so the Avatar of Love dipped his head and caught the sensitive head between his lips and licked around the rim before dipping just the tip of his tongue into the slit at the same time he slipped his hand under Seto's balls and pressed in and up, massaging his prostate externally, causing a pearly droplet to drip out as he lapped it up.  "Mmm... I really want you to cum down my throat.  Please?  If you feel teeth I will never try again."  The promise was rash, but Katsuya was confident.  He would do this right because he couldn't imagine a lifetime of not tasting Seto's most intimate essence.

 

Resolve took over from fear and Seto took a deep breath and nodded slightly.  "If I feel even an edge..."

 

"Yeah, yeah."  Katsuya mumbled around the thick head he'd eased between his wet, velvety soft lips.  With ultimate skill, determination to drive out bad memories, and pure lust, he relaxed his throat and jaw and Seto's cock slid in to the root.  He hummed his pleasure, burying his nose in the fragrant curls at the base of the shaft, closing his throat around the rigid length with a series of swallows and contractions that drove the initial jolt of fear out of the brunet's mind by replacing it with pure ecstasy.

 

Katsuya was amazed at the unbridled responsiveness of Seto's body.  Pleasure was singing through both of them, reaching flash point much faster than he ever imagined.  He had so much he wanted to do, to experience, with his lover, but the way Seto's climax was rushing at them, they wouldn't last another minute.  Even as he realized it, Seto's body arched, spasming with ecstasy as his thick silky cream shot down Katsuya's throat.  "Mmm..."  Savoring the taste, he chased down the tiny drops that had escaped his lips, nuzzling affectionately into the scented warmth.

 

Seto's hands tousled his hair affectionately.  "Okay, you may do that anytime you like."

 

Katsuya grinned teasingly.  "Gee thanks your Majesty."  The smile changed, becoming hungry and slightly feral.  "You got your second wind yet?  I'm not even close to being done with you."

 

Sated blue eyes widened slightly and started to glitter with renewed interest.  "Oh?  What do you think you're going to do?"

 

"I'm going to tongue fuck you until you're stretched, squirming and ready, then I'm going to put my cock in you and pound your ass until you blow again, after I will tongue fuck you some more, just to get you hard and dripping again - so I can ride you for a couple hours."  He answered casually, but his expression hardened and became determined.  "Objections?"

 

"You really think you can do all that?  What happens if you cum?"  Seto asked breathlessly, the images filling his mind making his heart pound and his head spin with anticipation.

 

"Hell yeah, and I got news for you, I won't get soft until I am damn good and ready, no matter how much I shoot.  I am going to fill your ass, I want to taste myself dripping out of you."  The Avatar of Inanna met Seto's sapphire eyes with his own golden gaze, letting all his passion shine through.  "I'll stop after you fill my ass tonight though.  You're going to need a break."

 

"Katsuya you're full of... Oh..."  Seto broke off his doubting scoff as his legs were lifted and spread wide over strong tanned shoulders and his lover's golden head lowered to meet his exposed opening.  He lost even the ability to gasp as Katsuya's tongue traced down and over his tight little bud.  By the time Katsuya collapsed in a cum filled heap beside him, Seto knew he would never doubt his lover again.  His final thought as he drifted off into exhausted, blissful sleep, was to wonder how the hell Katsuya had known so damn much about giving pleasure.  He'd ask when they woke up.

 

The first rays of dawn were breaking over the horizon when Seto surfaced from his deep sleep.  Awareness of warm wetness moving over his very sensitive cock made him sigh and wriggle slightly.  "Katsuya, you're an animal."  It sounded like a complaint, could have been mistaken for one, if Katsuya hadn't felt the waves of love and contentment Seto was feeling.

 

"I'm just washing you up so I can see if I rubbed you raw.  I want to see how it feels to have you ride me.  Love cowboy but I think I'm going to like missionary with you on top better."  The blond tossed the washcloth over his shoulder where it landed on the floor with a distinct splatting sound.

 

"Hmmm I can tell you I'm sore.  You're going to have to wait Katsuy....ahhh I said I was sore!"  Seto yanked a handful of blond hair up, removing the oh-so-persuasive velvet lips from his willing - but painfull - cock.  "Katsuya!"  

 

"Hmmm it's not that bad.  You'll be healed in about a minute.  You think I don't know how fast Upyri heal?  I was a kid in a man's body and clumsy as hell.  You don't know how many times  I tripped, fell, knocked shit over, tumbled down the steps.  I was a walking bruise for a long damn time."

 

"That is not the point.  I said... Wait I never saw any bruises on you.  I would have..."

 

"They always faded right after they came on.  Didn't last more than a few minutes.  Are you saying you don't heal that fast?"  Katsuya frowned and turned to sit cross-legged beside his lover.

 

"Bruises, cuts, minor things last a couple hours.  Burns a little longer.  Deep wounds can last a day or two.  We can be killed if the wound is major, like a beheading, but very little else with the exception of drowning.  For some reason we have an attraction to salt water, but we have trouble with swimming.  Most Upyri deaths are attributed to some form of drowning."

 

"Great so you guys settle in Japan, an island surrounded by the stuff."

 

"I don't know why we established here.  I am not interested in a history lesson.  Back to you.  You heal fast even for a Upyri.  Do you have any scars?"

 

"Scars?  No.  But I have these."  Katsuya held out his hands to show Seto the sacred brands he had received.  "Inanna gave them to me when I agreed to be her Avatar."  Katsuya's eyes narrowed slightly.  "You aren't surprised at all."

 

"No."  Seto pushed a pillow behind his back and sat up, leaning against the headboard.  "I did research on you Katsuya.  Not just you, but the Ilati-Inu.  Your family have been Oracles and Avatars as far back as history records.  Normally an oracle from your family has one marking, and it has always been love, physical love, or fertility.  There is one obscure reference, a single line of text on a fragment of stone, that refers to a second type of oracle - one bearing two marks.  In all cases with single marks, women bear the mark.  That one reference very clearly refers to a man."  Seto carefully took Katsuya's hands in his own, staring down at the distinctive marks.  "Katsuya, these marks are Love and War."  He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.  "I'm never going to get any peace."  He mumbled to himself.

 

"I'll give you a piece any time you want.  Stop being a drama King.  Just tell me already.  I know there is more."

 

"I cross referenced what I found with other similar legends and myths, extrapolated local stories and formed a theory of what I believe happened."

 

"Wow, fancy words to say you guessed.  Okay Kaiba, lay it on me."  He genuinely wanted to know.  Seto was a genius and Katsuya was confident that if someone could figure it out, it would be Seto.

 

"I started with everything I knew about you from birth, that your in utero time was prolonged and when I checked birth records you are officially listed at forty-two weeks, however your mother's health records state she was pregnant two months before that.  The doctors believed she miscarried the first child and conceived you right away.  I don't think that's true.  Katsuya, children of mixed bloodlines are not bound by the same timeline as common humans.  Gods can be born in days, hours, or years.  If you are of a mixed blood line you could be a genetic throwback to a line that hasn't existed in millenia or you could be an evolutionary leap.  I don't think that, but it's possible.  I believe you are a deliberate creation through the manipulation of genetics.  Katsuya, you were bred to be the Avatar - Oracle of Innana, of War and Love.  You needed the physical strength and the extra time to learn and grow.  You needed the challenges that you faced to develop your mind and your problem solving abilities, but most of all you needed pain, because you needed to understand that sometimes pain is the only way to fix things.  You stopped growing, stopped learning, just stopped, when you became happy, because happiness isn't what fuels war, Katsuya."

 

"Ah, Seto?  Not disagreeing 'cause I pretty much figured that out on my own, but, why did you even care?  Weren't you busy banging Ishizu?"

 

Seto stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.  "I didn't 'bang' Ishizu.  I've told you I didn't even kiss him."

 

"But he bit your dick 'several times?'  What the hell was it about if you didn't ... do normal stuff."  Katsuya quoted, his voice ending in an obvious question.

 

Seto huffed out a breath and rubbed his temples to smooth away the headache that Katsuya's questions were causing.  "Katsuya do you remember the day before I left?  That morning, specifically?"

 

"Ah... uhm... Kind of?  You woke me up with a tight hug, then you jumped out of bed and took off.  I felt you were upset about something but I didn't know what.  That's why I waited up most of the night you spent with Ishizu.  I... I was worried."

 

"You had reason to be scared Katsuya, not worried, scared.  That wasn't a friendly hug I woke you with.  I'd just woken from a wet dream of fucking you that was so vivid I wasn't sure if it had really happened or not.  I reached out to feel you, to see if you were still hot and sweaty, like in my dream and touched your cool skin.  You turned towards me and put your hand on my chest with the most trusting expression I've ever seen.  Your eyes flicked open, and you smiled and whispered 'love you.'"

 

"Ah man."  Katsuya mumbled as his face burned crimson.  "Sorry."

 

"Idiot!  I still wasn't thinking clearly and I pounced you, ready to fuck you through the mattress.  You sighed and hugged me, mumbling about what a good friend I was.  I just about lost my mind and my heart broke in pieces.  I got the hell out of there because I was so close to that line.  I stayed away all day because I was ashamed of myself.  I knew you weren't ready, I didn't know if you ever would be but I knew if I went home to you that night I would make you mine.  Ishizu..."  Seto trailed off.

 

"Ishizu?"  The blond prompted.

 

"Ishizu had been making very blatant sexual advances for months and I had ignored them all, but that night... He offered me a way out, a way to protect you and a way to relieve my need.  I know it was wrong, but I needed something.  Ishizu gave me that something.  Afterwards I was cruel, thanking him for the blow and dismissing him, telling him that if he ever touched me again he would be staked.  He knelt in front of me and cried.  He knew that I loved you Katsuya, he knew that and was ashamed for taking advantage of my pain.  He confessed he was being forced to act like that by Gozaburo, that 'father' threatened to cast Ishizu out if Ishizu failed in his mission - to seduce me away from you."  Seto's eyes went blank, turning inward.  "I realized our goal was the same even if our motivations differed.  I proposed a kind of... mutual aid relationship.  He would help me and I would help him in achieving our mutual goals.  We could have helped each other out without intimate contact, but the truth is we are both young, healthy men with needs.  Ishizu never let me bring him satisfaction, although he claimed satisfaction was gained by touching and pleasing me.  I don't believe him, but I honestly enjoyed the release.  I didn't know there was such a thing as a blood free blowjob until you....  Now... Now I am amazed I thought what Ishizu was... Ahem, anyway, I don't think that matters."

 

"Huh.  Hand jobs and blow jobs, to keep me and Ishizu safe."  Katsuya clicked his tongue playfully.  "Tsk tsk.  The things you had to suffer through!  How did you survive?"  The blond tilted his head curiously, "So, you guys really didn't kiss. Satisfaction gained from touching you?  No wonder he used his teeth.  Your blood tastes and feels as good as any orgasm.  You never returned the favor?  Never jacked him off or went down on him?"

 

The way his love said it made Seto cringe slightly.  "He didn't want it.  He said it was his pleasure and honor to serve me."

 

"I was right before.  You're a selfish, cold prick."  Katsuya chuckled.  "Sort of glad of it in this case, but I'm telling you straight up your Majesty, I want a partner not someone to worship all the time.  I expect you to worship me just as much as I do you."  His eyes gleamed with lusty humor.  "You can start by returning the blow job I gave you last night.  Since you're too sore to do me."  He sprawled out on the bed invitingly.  "Get to work Kaiba."

 

Seto looked at him with a puzzled frown.  "You are not acting like any virgin I've ever heard of.  You didn't sleep with Oonishi so... Who do I have to thank?  Then kill?"

 

Deciding his love needed just a bit of a nudge, Katsuya picked up Seto's hand and pressed it firmly to his erection.  "Inanna.  Part of the deal for me agreeing to be her Avatar was that she would give me the weapons I needed to take you from Ishizu.  Ishizu got you using sex, so Inanna and I both figured you were weak about it.  She dumped the entire history of sex, as well as her first hand memories on me.  I ain't done it all, but there ain't much I haven't seen."  He shimmied and arched into Seto's warm palm.  "Seto, I've been as blunt as possible so will you please notice that I'm about to cum in your hand."

 

Seto grinned and propped himself on one elbow while his other hand stroked teasingly along Katsuya's shaft.  "You called me lazy.  Maybe I'm too lazy to worry about it.  Or maybe I'm just a cold, selfish prick."

 

"Jerk."  Katsuya snapped before closing his eyes defensively.  "I really need you to love me this morning. Last night, I decided I’d push.  It was all about what I wanted and needed.  Now I need... Seto, I need to know you need me like that too."

 

The bed shifted and Katsuya tensed slightly then relaxed as Seto's body slid over and down blanketing him in warmth.  Warm breath washed over his most sensitive flesh and he opened his eyes to see his lover's blue eyes staring up at him with love and humor.  "I..."

 

"You know I do.  You saw one of my hottest fantasies when you were too young to understand.  Me in the moonlight covered in your cum."  Seto admitted huskily.

"It's what I jacked off to."  Katsuya admitted, equally husky.  "I can't wait to try a personal bukake with you."

 

"Inanna, hmm?  I am going to be the one catching up.  I expect you to share everything Katsuya."  Seto sent him a look that promised much more than what Inanna had given.  A smile was nice, but Katsuya wanted action.  To give his brunet king a hint he arched his hips, rubbing the head of his cock on stubbly underside of Seto's chin.  

 

Seto gave him a smirk, and took the hint.  Playing with Katsuya was fun, almost as fun as - okay maybe not - nothing compared to the way Jou was moaning his name as he tried that tongue thing Katsuya had done to him.  Good thing he was a quick study.  

 

He had long past given up the concern for his increased soreness and had just collapsed beside his very happy, well fucked lover, when his door flew open and two apparitions appeared.  "Oh god, Kasuya!"  He rasped hoarsely.  "You've killed me."  He began to flounder around on the bed, limbs uncooperative even as his brain tried to bring him fully awake.

Golden eyes that had closed in bliss popped open to stare at the intruders.  "Oh hey; wondered when you guys were going to wake up."  He grinned slightly.  "Seto, ya ain't dead, neither were they.  Calm down, you're going to give yourself a stroke getting worked up again so soon."

 

"'Ain't dead?'  'Ain't Dead?'"  Seto yelled, practically hyperventilating.  "Even Upyri can't come back to life!  When - what -  Katsuya what the fuck is going on?"

 

"Geeze, Seto, take a breath.  When I was in the mausoleum I felt cold.  I told you I know dead, and cold isn't dead.  Me and Pegasus opened the ground and let them get warm.  Nothing freaky about it at all."

 

"Nothing freaky?"  Seto yelped.  "My dead cousin comes back to life and you say nothing freaky?"  The brunet was sure his head would start spinning any second.  It didn't help that Katsuya just patted his head like some kind of backwards child.

 

Atemu chuckled and shook his head at pair.  "I was going to request you come to the council, but I can see you have a lot to discuss and Cousin, you are not thinking clearly.  Perhaps get some sleep and join us later.  We have much to talk about as well."

 

Yugi smiled impishly at them from beside his husband, "Nice to see - meet you Katsuya - good to see you again Seto.  You've grown up well."  With a wink the petite Upyri waved and turned to follow his mate out of the room.  

 

The desires to tease Seto and nap abruptly left Katsuya and he jackknifed out of bed dragging Seto with him.  "Well shit!"

 

Seto, still weak-kneed and grappling with shock, wobbled upright.  "What?"

 

"Why didn't you tell me Yugi was the Avatar of Tiamat."  Katsuya was dressing in a frenzy.  He gave his sleepy looking love a quick pinch on the ass.  "Move it!"

 

"Yeah, yeah.  What do you mean?  Yugi's not the Avatar of Tiamat."  Seto frowned and slowly, disjointedly, started to dress.

 

"Sure as hell his.  He has a mark like mine on his hand."  Katsuya growled and huffed.  "Hurry the hell up."

 

"He isn't.  I know his hands, have held them many times.  I even bathed his body for burial.  He didn't have a mark on his hand."

 

"He has one now."  Katsuya sighed and seeing that Seto was decently covered - barely - in pants and an open shirt, Katsuya dragged him out of the room to find Yugi and Atemu.

 

They hurried into the Advisor Chamber, hands clasped tight, and shoulder to shoulder.  Katsuya took two steps into the room and froze.  "Wow, uh, what's got everyone ready to commit murder?"

 

Atemu, face grim, turned and nodded once.  "Yugi was relaying how he came to be injured.  He claims Kaiba Gozaburo and two others set on him.  Yugi had discovered a surprise I was holding for him, one that I had yet to proclaim, I was awaiting confirmation.  Yugi is going to be a father - I am carrying our child.  He was ecstatic and when he innocently told Gozaburo, he was attacked.  It was deliberate because Gozaburo knew I would kill myself and our child to save Yugi."

 

"Ah... is the baby ..."  Katsuya bit off the question, but Atemu smiled at him.

 

"Thank you for caring, our child is strong within me.  I don't think he will enjoy cold weather, but otherwise he will not be affected."  Crimson eyes turned to Gozaburo.  "You've heard the charges.  What say you?"

 

"Sire, you both were out for so long, I believe that Yugi is confused.  Not to say he doesn't believe it's true, but I have always been loyal to your house."  The Upyri sounded calm, not frightened or worried.  It added weight to his statement.

 

"Yugi, perhaps if you can tell us the names of the other two who attacked you, we will get to the truth of it."  Atemu turned and curved his arm around his small mate's waist.

 

"They wore hoods.  I don't know.  I really don't."  He let out a sobbing breath.  "I know what happened, Atemu, I do.  Please..."

 

Katsuya smiled slightly.  Time to help out his new best friend and keep his word to Inanna.  "Ah ya know, I can sort this out really easy."  The blond empath stepped right up to Gozaburo and held out his hand.  "Gimme your hand Buttface.  I'll know if you lie, you can't hide it from me.  I've already proven myself and I got nothing to gain one way or the other."

 

"This is ridiculous."  Gozaburo glared.  "You are a simpleton.  I will not tolerate this."

 

"Simpleton?  How come I figured out they were alive smartass?  Oh..."  He turned to Atemu.  "Have the other crypts checked, if the guys inside are uhm, not... Eww ya know... Put them in the sun."

 

"Already started.  There are a half dozen couples laying in the sun, and more joining them.  There have been a few that have been beyond saving but most so far are possible."   Atemu waved back to Gozaburo.  "Continue.  Kaiba Gozaburo, give Son-Re Katsuya your hand."  Katsuya jolted at the name, but didn't protest.

 

"If I refuse?"  The Upyri challenged his king.

 

"You die where you stand."  Lines forming a golden eye blazed to life on Atemu's forehead.  "Choose."

 

Gozaburo thrust his fist at Katsuya, glaring death at the blond.  Katsuya ignored it and asked, "Okay so, did you attack Yugi?  Beat him with the intent of killing him or making him and Atemu die?"

 

Rage, pride, and dark satisfaction that was filled with sexual power and pleasure punched into Katsuya's gut.  "Oh Inanna..."  Katsuya staggered back, releasing the fist as tears fell from his eyes.  "You raped him?"

 

That had never been in any account, nobody had known except Atemu, who had found his love after the attack.  Even Yugi didn't know the complete defilement of his body, having fallen unconscious before the rape.  Atemu's hair crackled and flared with power, lines of purest gold white covered every inch of his body.  Nobody doubted in that instant that Atemu would annihilate Gozaburo.  Before he could unleash an attack, Yugi keened and cried.  The all powerful Upyri turned to his stricken love scooping him up in a tight hold as Yugi lost consciousness again

 

When Atemu turned back to face the beast he found Seto and Katsuya were again shoulder to shoulder right on top of Gozaburo.  Katsuya's eyes were blazing with gold as he gripped Gozaburo's throat in his hand.

 

"Who helped you, Bastard?"  Seto practically screamed in the man's face.

 

Kaiba Gozaburo smiled coldly, smug hatred oozing from him.  "Fuck you."

 

Gold eyes flared, then flattened.  Disgust showed clearly on Katsuya's face, and in a move that would send chills through the Upyri for decades, tore Gozaburo's head from his body with his bare hands and throwing the head, it's mouth still moving, into the fire blazing in the hearth.

 

Atemu, heart pounding with the need for vengeance, demanded, "Who? Who did you see?"

 

Katsuya, after a compassionate look at the unconscious Yugi, shook his head slowly.  "I don't know.  There were only hooded figures in the image I saw.  I... I got the impression they were forced into it, and that he killed them later."

 

"Then that is justice."  Atemu gave him a brooding look.  "Yugi has always said freshly spilled blood contains echoes of the person.  You must be very uncomfortable.  Go shower.  Seto, I am going to take Yugi upstairs to rest.  I would appreciate it if you would join me.  We have much to discuss."

 

"Of course."  Seto gave his mate a quick look, concerned by the grim look.  "Katsuya are you alright?"

 

"Yes.  I'm going to shower.  King... Uh... Atem... Uhm.. Do you want me to find Mokuba and send him to you?" Katsuya asked softly, a strange feeling welling up from inside.  There was something very private going on here.  Something just between the cousins.  Atemu was practically shouting it, even though he hadn't said a word.

 

Atemu smiled, although his expression stayed grim.  "Yes.  Mokuba is your younger brother isn't he?"  The red eyes turned to Seto for confirmation.  "Your father was expecting a child.  I need to meet him as soon as possible. I believe a servant said 'Mokuba' is watching over the waking Upyri; welcoming them back."

 

"I'll take his place."  Katsuya glanced over at Seto.  "I'm not upset about you guys needing to talk.  Don't worry about me okay?  I'm a big boy.  I killed him knowing the cost."

 

"Katsuya, are you sure?  Atemu can see to Yugi and I can stay with you.  I know killing someone is devastating.  I.. I will stay with you."  Seto offered, ignoring his cousin's sharply indrawn breath.

 

"I'm good.  I just want to get the blood off me.  He does need to speak to you - and Mokuba.  He's practically shrieking it.  You go with him and help with Yugi.  You never told me you three were best friends, but it makes sense.  See you later - I'm not upset - I promise."   He brushed Seto's shoulder with his own as he left the room behind.

 

Katsuya scrubbed himself until his skin was raw, then dressed in loose, comfortable clothes.  After fussing with his hair a few minutes, he decided he'd wasted enough time and went to the garden.  Dozens of bodies were spread out in the sunlight.

 

Mokuba and Noa stood together watching over them, every now and again pointing to one.  Ishizu knelt a small distance away, watching a gold-blond pair of men with wide, pained eyes.  Katsuya took a deep breath and let it out slowly and approached the Kaiba pair.  "Mokuba, Atemu wants you in his room.  He's with Seto.  Yugi collapsed and  I think they need you."

 

Mokuba nodded and turned to the house, dashing with blurred speed through the garden.  Katsuya waited until the black-haired teen was gone before turning to look out over the field of waking Upyri.  "Your father is dead."  Noa caught his breath but didn't respond.

 

After a moment the blond empath nodded, "Thought you wouldn't try to fake feelings for the bastard.  I killed him.  Ripped his head off and threw it in the fire."  Still visible no reaction.

 

"Uhuh... Only reason I don't do the same to you is because it would hurt Mokuba.  Been enough pain.  I know Buttface forced you, know you didn't rape Yugi.  If you had I wouldn't hesitate to turn you to ash.  But I'm telling you straight up, you hurt Mokuba, you hurt anyone I care about, hell if I catch even a trace of traitorous thought, I will kill you without remorse.  Remember that.  Your family declared war on my family.  You won't win against me Noa."

 

The blue-haired man bowed his head and wrapped his arms around himself, regret, guilt,  heartache all surrounded him in a cloud so dark it would probably never completely disappear.  "There is nothing I can say or do to ever make up for it.  I can blame my father, blame being young, blame the stars in the sky, but it wouldn't change the fact that it was my fists that brought my King's life partner down, that it was my eyes that watched and did nothing as my own father defiled him.  You can't hate me any more than I hate myself.  Not only am I a coward - I am not even honorable enough to admit to it and die as I should."  He nodded slightly and went to a waking man - a white-haired man with deep chocolate eyes - bringing him a chalice of warmed blood.

 

Katsuya watched him for a moment, then turned to walk across to Ishizu.  He knelt by the man's side and stared down at the pair on the grass.  "Your brothers?"

 

"My brother and his mate."  The man corrected tightly.

 

"Yeah, figured you felt that way.  Family is everything and anyone else is an interloper.  That's why you did what Gozaburo said."

 

"Seto explained it to you?"  The older Upyri asked quietly.

 

"Yeah, about your 'deal.'  Funny thing though.  I doubt he would have let you live a minute much less suck his dick if he knew you'd followed your uncles orders before, beating Moutou Yugi almost to death."

 

"You... You... are wrong.  I would never..."

 

"Gozaburo gave you up, just before I ripped his head off and burned it in the fireplace.  He forced you, but not too hard.  You are ambitious, clever, weak.  You didn't kill Yugi, but you hurt him badly and you left when you realized your uncle was going to soil himself with an outsider.  That's why you came here.  Why you tried to get Seto.  Yeah he ordered it, but you wanted to save Seto from dragging himself down with me - an outsider."

 

"You are not true Upyri, not even Malka.  You are an enemy who should have been killed.  Instead he protected you, loved you, and you couldn't be bothered to give him what he need from you.  You are scum not fit for any Upyri to walk on."  Ishizu snarled.

 

"Thought so.  You knew he would never love you - you knew he loved me - that's why you didn't try to bind him to you with emotions, but appealed to his protective feelings for me, practical nature and horniness.  Why didn't you try for more?  Try to truly seduce him?  It doesn't make sense.  You are something of an empath yourself aren't you?  You could have done it.  You didn't draw the line at almost killing Yugi, so why not go all the way with Seto?"

 

"That's something you will never know."  The older Upyri smiled maliciously.  "I hope you wonder all your life."

 

"Huh, control is a real thing for you ain't it?  Got news for you, jerk, I won't think about you for a second after you get the hell out of here.  I will tell you something else.  You missed out, 'cause Seto is incredible as a lover.  I know you'll wonder about that all your life and you'll wonder if it would have made a difference."

 

Ishizu didn't deny it.  "He was the king of all Upyri.  His lines are pure, as are Atemu's.  I will not apologize to you for my loyalty to my people.  You may kill me if you like, I did my best and will die with an easy conscience."

 

"Nah, I owe you, so you live, for now.  You are really fucked up though.  You need to get some help for that hate you're carrying."  

 

The older man didn't dignify that with an answer.  "You... what is going to happen now?"

 

"Now?  You are going to leave, go back to Loire or wherever you are from.  Find a mate and have babies.  Forget this place because you are not welcome here.  I'll see to it that Seto forgets you ever existed.  If I ever, in my entire life, see you again, you will die.  This is your one time freebie.  Take it and get lost."  he stood and brushed himself down.  "Go now.  I'll tell your brothers to look for you in Loire."

 

"I will leave when I see them take their first breaths.  You will not ever see me again."  Ishizu agreed quietly. The victory was easy, too easy, but Katsuya figured that he would take care of any threats when they came.  He would allow this one shot.  Maybe Ishizu would take it.

 

With a nod, Katsuya strolled over to where Pegasus stood looking down at two Upyri with agonized eyes.  "You know them Ojiisan?"

 

"Croquet and Cyndia.  She was Ilati-Inu, your great, great, greats - grandmother.  Croquet was my life partner, she was my lover.  I was too weak, too frightened to lose her, to change her.  I didn't know she bore me a child and left him at the temple until he was an old man.  We talked once, he knew of me, but didn't recognize who I was.  I didn't know it was even possible without transformation.  They... they were doing this so we could all be together forever, our son could join us, and our other children."  Tears were falling from his eyes.  "They haven't drawn a breath yet.  They have been the oldest found intact.  I... Katsuya are they... dead?"

 

The blond reached down and touched the woman first, then the man.  "No, but they are still very, very cold.  It will be a long time before they wake, perhaps days.  They are colder than Yugi and Atemu were when I first touched the casket.

 

"Days?  When I've been without them for millennia?  I can wait for years if need be."  Joy and tears flowed from the golden eyes.

 

"Yeah, if it was Seto, I'd be the same way."  Katsuya settled down next to the older man.  "I'd wait forever if I had to."

 

Owari

 

Glossary of Terms:

 

Mago - Grandchild, Genderless

 

Enkidu - (eN-kee-du) Gilgamesh’s opposite - wild and uncivilized, where the king was urbane and cultured. They became lifelong constant companions until Enkidu was overcome and dies of illness. Gilgamesh made a deal with Ishtar to restore Enkidu’s life, but broke the contract upon Enkidu’s return.

 

Gilgamesh - (Gill-gaa-mesh) Hero of Sumeria, partner of Enkidu, Ancient King of Uruk. First progenitor of the Upyri race. Gilgamesh - with his partner Enkidu - performed many great feats in Sumeria (primarily vanquishing monsters.) After he became King of Uruk, he was know for protecting the city from flood and other building projects. Upon Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh became despondent and began seeking the secret to eternal life.

 

Ilati-Inu - (Ee-lah-tee Ee-nu) Literally translates to Goddess-eye in Sumerian.  Descendents of the Sacred Courtesans of Uruk, avatars to Ishtar.  They received more exposure to Utu-Ina-Bau than any others except Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but because of their close ties with the Goddess Ishtar were not transformed to Upyri as were the villagers, Enkidu and Gilgamesh.

 

Ishtar - (Eesh-tar) Goddess of Sex, war, fertility and love.  Fell in lust with Gilgamesh and promised him the ability to bring back Enkidu from the land of the dead if he lay with her.  Gilgamesh agreed.  After Enkidu was returned, Gilgamesh left her bed.

 

Malka - (Mal-kah) Believed to be descendants of Gilgamesh's exiled wives.  They received enough of the Utu-Ina-Bau to allow them to be 'transformed' to Upyri, but they are also able to live as normal humans.

 

Sacred Courtesans of Uruk - Priestess dedicated to Ishtar. Progenitors of the Ilati-Inu race.

 

Tiamat - (Tee-ah-maat) Maiden Goddess of Life, creator of Utu-Ina-Bau.  Supposedly despoiled and fallen because she was raped by Gilgamesh and Enkidu when they stole more Utu-Ina-Bau..

 

Upyri - (OO-peer-ee) Descendants of Gilgamesh and Enkidu or their village Uruk, whose evolution diverged from normal human evolution.  They are the basis for the mythical 'vampire.'  They drink blood and eat flesh, but they do not kill humans.  They are light sensitive - especially their eyes, but they are not nightwalkers.

 

Uruk - (U-ru-kee) An ancient village located on the Euphrates River, in what is now Iraq. Home of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

 

Utu-Ina-Bau - (U-too Ee-nah Baa-u) Mysterious substance whose name translates to The lady who brings the dead back to life in the sun.  Created by Tiamat and shared with Ishtar.

 

Utu-Ina-Bau Nasaku -  (U-too Ee-nah  Bah-u Nah-sah-ku) The substance a Upyri injects with a bite to Malka at the end of transformation, a kind of finishing touch that puts a final seal on the transformation and binds the two together.

 

 


End file.
